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Falcons 2021 rookie review: Jalen Mayfield

Fans were thrilled with the selection of Kyle Pitts. Fans were mostly intrigued with the selection of Richie Grant. Fans were...well, largely nonplussed about the selection of Jalen Mayfield, the Michigan tackle who was a bit of a surprise third round pick. The Falcons clearly liked his tools and his upside, and with Matt Gono and Josh Andrews on the team, they might have expected that they could spend his rookie season refining those.

Nearly a year later, that mild confusion has probably morphed into concern. Mayfield worked as both a guard and a tackle in training camp and preseason before the team pressed him into starting duty Week 1 against the Eagles due to Josh Andrews’ broken hand.