How many defensive linemen can the Falcons keep, and who are all these guys? (2024)

FLOWERY BRANCH, Ga. — The Atlanta Falcons are hoping 2024 is “The Season of Grady Jarrett” in many ways. The team’s 10th-year defensive lineman, a steal as a fifth-round draft pick out of Clemson in 2015, is coming back from an ACL tear that cut last season in half, and he’s going to be counted on to be a disruptive presence on an unproven defensive unit.

“Grady lights up everything he does. Grady is Atlanta,” coach Raheem Morris said. “He embodies everything we are about. He defines our ethos.”

The Falcons need the two-time Pro Bowler to be at or near his peak this year, and they believe he can be.

“There’s no question he’s an outstanding athlete; he’s an outstanding leader,” team owner Arthur Blank said. “There is probably nobody on our team who works harder than him. There’s probably nobody on the team that’s a better role model in every aspect we ask our Falcons to be, not just on the field but off the field. He’s one of these folks that you spend time with during your life and you never forget them. We’re blessed to have Grady.”

All of this talk is sincere, and at the same time, it’s true the Falcons are planning for the post-Grady Jarrett era. Morris has mentioned several times he knows Jarrett is 31 years old. In fact, the age of Jarrett and fellow defensive lineman David Onyemata, also 31, is part of the reason the Falcons drafted three defensive linemen in April, Morris said.

The coach hopes Jarrett and Onyemata will have the same type of influence on their younger teammates that Morris saw Aaron Donald have in Los Angeles last season. For now, though, the strategy has left the Falcons with a whole lot of defensive linemen and only so many places to put them on a 53-man roster.

“You’re counting them up and looking at all these big, powerful, pretty defensive linemen and thinking, ‘How are you really going to cut this thing down?’” general manager Terry Fontenot said. “What you don’t want to do is box yourself in and say, ‘OK, we’re keeping a certain number at each spot.’ What you want to do is keep the best players.”

The Falcons must cut their roster to 53 players by Aug. 27, and the most complicated part looks like it will be deciding how many defensive linemen to keep and which ones. Morris said he could see Atlanta “going heavy” at the position, which could mean as many as nine could make the cut. At the moment, there are 14 on the 90-man roster.

Today, we’ll look at the nine I’m projecting to make the roster and how they fit. This projection would mean either practice squad spots or releases for Prince Emili, Zion Logue, LaCale London, Kentavius Street and Tommy Togiai. Those would not be easy moves, especially in the case of Street, who played significant early snaps in the first preseason game of the season Friday in Miami and played well for the Falcons before being injured last season.

Brandon Dorlus

Atlanta’s fourth-round pick in April, the 6-foot-3, 285-pounder had 12 sacks in five seasons at Oregon. After playing all across the defensive front in college, Dorlus said he is concentrating on learning the 4I spot (on the inside shoulder of the tackle) for the Falcons at the moment and is working on improving his power rushing after learning his athleticism is not the advantage in the NFL that it was in college.

“As a young player, I’m not getting as many reps as I want to,” he said. “The biggest thing is watch, watch and watch what the older guys are doing.”

Eddie Goldman

Maybe the most interesting of the up-front group, Goldman is attempting a comeback after sitting out the last two seasons. He attempted similar comebacks each of the last two offseasons in Atlanta but gave them up before this point in training camp.

The 39th pick in the 2015 draft, Goldman played six seasons in Chicago before his brief retirement. The first five of those seasons he was playing for defensive line coach Jay Rodgers, who is now the Falcons’ defensive line coach. Reuniting those two is one of the reasons Morris thought this comeback attempt might work for Goldman. So far, it has. The 6-4, 330-pounder has kept his weight down and is regularly getting practice reps with the first team when Jarrett gets a rest.

“It’s been a while for him, but he’s a really good player, and we like where Eddie is at,” assistant general manager Kyle Smith said. “He’s a good dude. He’s good to be around. I think he feels comfortable here. His body looks good. For him, it’s about stringing days together and being consistent.”

Ta’Quon Graham

The Falcons’ fifth-round pick in 2021 started nine games in 2022 before suffering a season-ending knee injury. He played only 32 percent of the team’s defensive snaps last year while he worked his way fully back from that injury. The 6-4, 294-pounder is working with the second team in the middle most days now.

“I have seen a violent, big human that is absolutely learning how to practice against his teammates,” Morris said. “Some of the stuff you like. Some of the stuff you have to say ‘Whoa,’ but he is strong. He’s got great length. He’s throwing his hands. He’s being physical. He’s doing things the right way. I have really been impressed.”

Demone Harris

A journeyman who has 11 career tackles while playing for three teams over the last five years, Harris is turning heads in Atlanta. The 6-4, 272-pounder is playing on the end and has gotten some snaps with the first team during practice in pure passing situations.

“He has played well,” defensive coordinator Jimmy Lake said. “He’s got a good pass rush for us.”

Zach Harrison

Harrison, drafted in the third round in 2023, played at 265 pounds as an end in Atlanta’s 4-3 base defense last season. This year, he’s up to 289 pounds after the Falcons’ new coaching staff asked him to play up front in their 3-4 base defense. This will be the first time in Harrison’s career he’ll play an interior line position. So far, it has been a good fit.

The coaching staff has “a vision for him that is a little different from the vision we had for him last year, but the skill set is the same and the player is the same so we’re still excited about him,” Smith said. “He’s a unique player with his height and length. We’re really excited about him because of the skill set and the things he can bring.”

Kevin King picks it off!

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— Atlanta Falcons (@AtlantaFalcons) August 9, 2024

Ruke Orhorhoro

The 6-4, 294-pounder, Atlanta’s second-round pick in April, is rotating with the reserves at defensive tackle and trying to learn as much as he can from Jarrett and Onyemata for now.

“I am wearing Grady out,” Orhorhoro said. “I sit next to him sometimes and I’ll be asking him, ‘Tell me this, tell me that,’ because I just want to learn from him. Not only has he done it, but he’s done it well for years on years on years. To have the opportunity to have two of those guys in my room, come on, you think I’m not about to ask a lot of questions?”

Grady Jarrett

The 6-foot, 305-pounder is taking his role as veteran teacher seriously but mostly trying to lead by example.

“Sometimes if you give someone too much information, it can slow them down because they might be looking at too many things,” Jarrett said. “The most important thing for a young player is just playing with max effort and not having a coach tell you something more than one time. My biggest role I can play in that is being the best me every day, and hopefully, that’ll inspire them to be their best selves. At the end of the day, this is a performance-based business and everybody is responsible for what they put on tape. You always want to give guys as much help as they are willing to take, but I have a job to do myself as well.”

David Onyemata

Entering his ninth year in the league, Onyemata is having the quietest camp among the defensive linemen, mostly because he’s one of the quietest personalities up front. But he’s going to start as long as he’s healthy, and he looked good against the Dolphins’ starting offensive line in joint practices against Miami.

James Smith-Williams

A seventh-round pick by Washington in 2020, Smith-Williams has quietly put together a solid career, starting 27 games in the last three years. The Falcons envision him as a run-stopping end, which means he’s trending to be a starter who gets subbed out in obvious passing situations.

“James throughout his career has been one heck of a run stopper, and we’ve got (Arnold Ebiketie) who is projected to be one heck of a pass rusher, so if you put those guys together and find a way to put together their role and see what they can do instead of what they can’t, I think you find really good players,” Morris said.

(Top photo of Zach Harrison: Peter Joneleit / Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

Josh Kendall , a Georgia native, has been following the Falcons since Jeff Van Note was the richly bearded face of the franchise. For 20 years before joining The Athletic NFL staff, he covered football in the SEC. He also covers golf for The Athletic. Follow Josh on Twitter @JoshTheAthletic