3 Atlanta Falcons rookies who may not see the field in their first year

Every rookie season is different. For some, they are thrown into the fire right away. For others, they may have some time to learn the ropes about becoming a professional in whatever league they play in. The NFL is no different, and neither are a team like the Atlanta Falcons, trying to go from middling to something respectable. Atlanta should be contending for the NFC South this year, but we will see.

Atlanta is coming off its third straight 7-10 season. While former head coach Arthur Smith was let go, Terry Fontenot remained on as the general manager. Although he has hit more than he has missed in his first three drafts, the Falcons' first-round pick this year was highly controversial. There is nothing wrong with the player and the person that is Michael Penix Jr., but you already had Kirk Cousins, man.

Even if Penix is part of the Falcons' long-term plans, he is one of a few draft picks Fontenot made that could be spending more time on the sidelines than on the field of play during their first season in the league. There is nothing wrong with that, as Atlanta should have one of the better rosters in the NFC this season. It is all about player development, or that should be the case for Raheem Morris' staff.

Here are three Falcons draft picks I think will be spending more time on the sidelines than playing.

3. Atlanta Falcons RB Jase McClellan

I loved watching Jase McClellan play at Alabama. He may not have had the prestige of other Crimson Tide running backs before him, but he certainly had staying power there. Again, I would love to see him get more run in the Atlanta backfield this year as a rookie, but I don't know... This has everything to do with him being buried behind Bijan Robinson and Tyler Allgeier on the running back depth chart.

While he was a draft pick that Morris oversaw, keep in mind that Robinson and Allgeier were picks made by Fontenot previously. The other important thing to know is Morris comes from the Rams, which means his new offensive coordinator Zac Robinson stems from the Sean McVay coaching tree. What this entails is Atlanta will do a lot of 11 personnel, meaning three wide receivers and no fullback.

Injuries may force McClellan into action early, but only one running back will be on the field at a time.

2. Atlanta Falcons QB Michael Penix Jr.

This is probably the most likely, but there is a scenario in which Michael Penix Jr. plays a ton. That would require Cousins getting hurt, and nobody wants to see that happen. Right now, Penix is the No. 2 option at quarterback in Atlanta, but I would venture to guess that third-stringer Taylor Heinicke will have a role of some sort on this team, either as the emergency quarterback or as the real backup.

Penix may be older coming out of Washington, but he may need a little more refinement than expected at the NFL level. He has shown to be a quick learner, as he became a college football star running Kalen DeBoer's system both at U-Dub and at Indiana before that. All things equal, Cousins will be the Falcons' starter this year and next before we see what happens ahead of the 2026 season.

Penix was not drafted to play this year in Atlanta. The plan was always to have him back up Cousins.

1. Atlanta Falcons DT Zion Logue

Zion Logue may be my Dawg, but I have a hard time seeing him play all that much as a rookie for the Falcons. The sixth-round pick out of Georgia is currently the Falcons' No. 3 option at nose tackle behind David Onyemata and LaCale London. Even though the Falcons are running a 3-4 base defense under Jimmy Lake, the defensive tackle position seems to be absolutely freaking loaded.

That would be Grady Jarrett's position with fellow Clemson alum Ruke Orhorhoro backing him up. Atlanta also used a fourth-round pick on former Oregon standout Brandon Dorlus to be somewhat of that defensive end/defensive tackle hybrid backing up Zach Harrison. In short, Logue is too far down on the depth chart ahead of this year to be anything more than a rotational piece or special teamer.

Not saying he is a guy who won't make it out of training camp, but Atlanta invested heavy on defense.