ATLANTA — With sweat pouring off his brow after a 90-minute practice at the Atlanta Falcons’ minicamp this week, Calais Campbell was the face of a new swagger emanating from the team’s defense.
He doesn’t hold back when asked what he expects this season.
“I feel like we’re built for dominance,” Campbell said.
Dominance. Around these parts, that’s a strange word for the defense.
The Falcons have struggled for years to stop opposing offenses, but they hope an offseason spending spree will produce a more fearsome unit.
Atlanta doled out upwards of $140 million in free agency to bring in Campbell at defensive end, along with safety Jessie Bates III, cornerback Mike Hughes, defensive tackle David Onyemata and outside linebackers Bud Dupree and Kaden Elliss. The Falcons also re-signed linebacker Lorenzo Carter and traded for cornerback Jeff Okudah, the No. 3 overall pick in the 2020 draft.
In all, there could be six new starters for Atlanta’s defense this year.
Grady Jarrett, who has been one of the team’s few bright spots on that side of the ball in recent years, looks forward to having a lot more help this season.
“There’s so much work to be done. We still haven’t played a game together yet,” the veteran defensive end said. “But I’m excited for what’s to come.”
After a run of five straight losing seasons, it’s not very difficult to pinpoint the biggest problem for the Falcons. Atlanta has consistently been in the bottom half of the NFL in every major defensive category, including 27th in yards surrendered and 23rd in points allowed last season
In particular, the Falcons have struggled to get any pressure on opposing quarterbacks, managing just 39 sacks over the past two seasons. No other team in the NFL totaled fewer than 62 over that same span.
Campbell, who is approaching his 37th birthday, knows his best days are behind him, but he does have 99 career sacks, including 5.5 last season for the Baltimore Ravens. The Falcons had 21 sacks a year ago, led by Jarrett with six.
“That’s what I do,” Campbell said. “I mean, 99 sacks is something I take a lot of pride in. My goal is to go out there and get as many as I can. I feel like this system is built for us to go out there and dominate.”
Campbell expects the Falcons to be coming at quarterbacks from everywhere on the field. The projected front seven combined for 31.5 sacks last season.
“What makes it special is we have a lot of guys that can rush the passer in different ways,” Campbell said, adding that if the team’s defensive backs are able to “play tighter, give us that extra split-second … I promise we will deliver.”
Atlanta also brought in a new defensive coordinator, Ryan Nielsen, and shook up the staff that will work under him. Expect a more aggressive approach from the former New Orleans Saints assistant as he works with a group led by feisty newcomers such as Bates and Dupree.
Arthur Smith, the former Tennessee Titans offensive coordinator entering his third season as Atlanta’s coach, chooses his words carefully when talking about Dupree’s nasty side.
“Bud’s a physical football player. I kind of like that. He’ll set an edge,” Smith said. “I coached against Bud and saw some of the things he brings to the table. Bud’s a tone setter. That’s putting it nicely.”
Desmond Ridder heads into his first full season as Atlanta’s starting quarterback after playing the final four games as a rookie this past winter. Even as he focuses on offense, he knows his development depends in part on how well the team plays defensively.
He’ll certainly have more room for error if Atlanta is making a stop every now and then.
“For an offense to be successful, it obviously needs a good defense and good special teams,” Ridder said. “When you’re sitting there on the bench, you want to see those other teams struggling. I think our defense is going to do a great job of that.”
Bates was the Falcons’ most notable free-agent signee. He developed into one of the league’s top safeties during five seasons with the Cincinnati Bengals, and he was part of a remarkable turnaround for the team, which won just 12 games over his first three seasons but reached the Super Bowl in his fourth.
He sees the same sort of potential in the Falcons, who haven’t had a winning record since 2017.
“It kind of reminds me a lot of what we had in Cincinnati,” Bates said. “There’s a lot to prove.”
AP photo by John Bazemore / Atlanta Falcons quarterback Desmond Ridder throws during a minicamp practice Tuesday at Mercedes-Benz Stadium.(Almost) all together now
The Falcons were nearly at full strength when the mandatory minicamp started Tuesday, holding out a handful of players coming back from injuries and retirement.
Tight end Kyle Pitts, running back Caleb Huntley and defensive tackle Eddie Goldman are expected to be ready for training camp in July, Smith said, but the team decided to play it safe during the minicamp.
Pitts, a rookie star two years ago, is coming back from knee surgery that limited him to 10 games in 2022. Huntley is in a similar position, having torn an Achilles’ tendon in a Dec. 18 road game against the New Orleans Saints.
“They will be assessed right before we start camp,” Smith said Tuesday. “But we feel pretty good about where everybody’s at.”
Goldman, 29, is a different case. He sat out the 2020 season because of the COVID-19 pandemic, then retired shortly after signing with the Falcons last summer. He has played just 14 games in the past three years, all for the Chicago Bears in 2021.
“Everybody is at different points in their careers,” Smith said. “We might be criticized for being too conservative. But the guy hasn’t played two of the last three years. He’s worked himself back into shape, and we’re trying to be smart. We look forward to getting him to training camp and allowing him to compete.”
Running back and return specialist Avery Williams was the only other player on Atlanta’s 90-man offseason roster not taking part in the two-day minicamp, which started with a workout at Mercedes-Benz Stadium that was open to fans.
Williams tore an anterior cruciate ligament during a noncontact drill a couple of weeks ago and underwent surgery that will keep him out for the entire 2023 season.
In addition to 86 roster players who suited up, the Falcons brought in seven players for a tryout.
The most notable name was cornerback Bless Austin, who has played three seasons in the NFL with a total of 17 starts for the New York Jets and Seattle Seahawks.
Three other tryout players were coming off stints in the XFL, including former Georgia offensive lineman D’Marcus Hayes, who played for the DC Defenders.
The Falcons also were taking a look at Chris Blair, who had 25 receptions for 584 yards and three touchdowns with the Defenders, and defensive lineman Caeveon Patton, selected to the All-XFL team after his season with the Orlando Guardians.
In addition, former Iowa State basketball player Michael Jacobson was getting a shot as a tight end.