The Falcons leaned heavily on a pair of veteran, stopgap starters at safety in 2021. Duron Harmon and Erik Harris were solid enough for Dean Pees, but it’s obvious the Falcons can and should be aiming to get more out of their safety group in 2022.
That starts with two players they already have under contract. Richie Grant didn’t get a ton of run this year on defense, but has to be a building block at safety or nickel going forward if this defense is going to get better in the short term. Jaylinn Hawkins whiffed on some tackles and seemed to fall out of favor with the coaching staff late in the year, but had some nice moments earlier on and clearly has ability.