Confirmed: Falcons will have two rookies starting in the secondary
Immediately after the draft, this year’s class was viewed as one that could potentially reshape the Atlanta Falcons defense. Terry Fontenot selected defensive players with each of the team’s first four picks, and all four of them are set up to be major contributors as rookies. From the jump, James Pearce Jr. stood out as […] The post Confirmed: Falcons will have two rookies starting in the secondary appeared first on SportsTalkATL.com.
Immediately after the draft, this year’s class was viewed as one that could potentially reshape the Atlanta Falcons defense. Terry Fontenot selected defensive players with each of the team’s first four picks, and all four of them are set up to be major contributors as rookies.
From the jump, James Pearce Jr. stood out as an unblockable force on the EDGE. It’s possible he’s been the defense’s MVP leading up to Week 1 and is expected to be a big part of the Falcons rotation across the defensive front, but he’s not the only rookie that will be seeing a ton of snaps.
On Thursday, Raheem Morris confirmed that Xavier Watts (safety) and Billy Bowman Jr. (nickel) have won their respective camp competitions and will be starting in the Falcons secondary in their Week 1 matchup with the Tampa Bay Bucs.
Rookie Xavier Watts will start at safety and rookie Billy Bowman will start at nickel, Raheem Morris said.
Jamal Agnew will be starting punt returner and primary kick returner.
— Josh Kendall (@JoshTheAthletic) August 28, 2025
Tampa Bay will provide an incredible test for the two rookies. Even without Chris Godwin and Jalen McMillan, the Bucs have a lot of weapons, and Baker Mayfield is a veteran quarterback that isn’t going to hesitate to test a couple of guys playing in their first NFL game.
It adds even more intrigue to an already critical NFC South matchup. The Falcons have a bevy of new faces on the defensive side of the ball as they hope to improve from a year ago, and the Bucs feature one of the most potent offensive attacks in the league.
Next Sunday cannot get here fast enough.
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Photo: David J. Griffin/Icon Sportswire
The post Confirmed: Falcons will have two rookies starting in the secondary appeared first on SportsTalkATL.com.
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