4:01pm: The Falcons are moving quickly. They will sign the former Bengals corner, Tom Pelissero of NFL.com tweets. This will be Dennard’s second free agency agreement this year, following his nixed Jaguars pact.
3:48pm: With the coronavirus testing portion of training camps underway, the ice surrounding the remaining high-profile free agents is beginning to thaw. The Falcons conducted a visit with cornerback Darqueze Dennard recently, Field Yates of ESPN.com tweets.
Dennard has been a free agent since his three-year, $13.5MM Jaguars deal fell through in late March. The Jags and Dennard agreed to terms during the legal tampering period, but the pact did not end up being finalized.
The Falcons have seen some turnover at cornerback this offseason. They cut longtime No. 1 corner Desmond Trufant and used their first-round pick on Clemson’s A.J. Terrell. The team could still use some help here, however. A six-year Bengal contributor, Dennard resides as one of the better free agent defenders available.
The Bengals re-signed Dennard on a one-year deal in 2019. He did not debut last season until late October, with a knee injury taking longer than expected to heal. But the former first-round pick started five Bengals games last year, moving his career total to 24. He has worked largely as a slot defender as a pro. Pro Football Focus graded Dennard as its No. 21 overall corner last season, during which he played 495 snaps.
The Falcons lost slot defender Brian Poole in free agency last year and did not see a strong performance from their secondary in 2019. Second-round pick Isaiah Oliver has yet to justify the team’s investment; Atlanta graded 25th in pass defense DVOA last season. Dennard, a Georgia native, provides more experience than any current Falcons corner. Ahead of the COVID-19-altered season, that figures to be critical.
Great signing. The Falcons have one of the most inexperienced cornerback rooms in the NFL and needed a cheap replacement for Trufant. If only he could stay healthy…
Even when they were experienced, it was ugly. Players like Rob Alford and Ricardo Allen were not starters. Now Trufant, whose own play fell after his injuries a few years ago, is gone and it is likely that Dennard will be much more active on the outside than he is used to. I agree that this is good for Atlanta, but I will add that they still need more contributions all over the secondary.
Agree with both of you, though I will state that the secondary would look a lot better if the Falcons had any sort of pass rush. There isn’t a CB alive that can cover as long as the Falcons need them to cover for someone to pressure the QB.
Solid addition though.