The Falcons have suffered a lot of injuries on defense in 2018. Anyone who has followed the team even casually can see the havoc it has wrought on the safeties, LB corps, and to a lesser extent the DL. But one area that has seen relatively little attrition is CB, where starters Desmond Trufant and Robert Alford were supposed to be rocks on a defense littered with rubble. While Trufant and Alford haven’t necessarily played up to expectations, they’ve at least been solid.
CB Brian Poole—who has been Atlanta’s nickel CB since 2016—has instead taken a huge step back.