A year ago, the Falcons made six of their nine draft picks on the third day of the 2021 NFL Draft. Those are typically your depth guys, your big swings on projects, and the gems you hope snuck by the rest of the NFL, as Grady Jarrett once inexplicably did. What you don’t typically expect is for those players to play significant roles in their rookie seasons.
Here, though, is how those six players saw their snaps shake out in 2021. One was essentially a stater, two were key reserves, and four of them played core special teams roles on the year as the Falcons led in the league in rookie snaps.