- Falcons punter Matt Bosher suffered a chest injury in the team’s game against the Browns on Thursday, so Atlanta will work out free agent Brandon Fields, according to Vaughn McClure of ESPN.com. Fields might only be a temporary solution if he signs, however, as McClure notes that Bosher is likely to be fine. A Dolphin from 2007-14, Fields played two games last season with the Saints and averaged 41.2 yards (35.1 net) on 10 punts.
- The Falcons have reached an injury settlement with center Jake Reed, according to Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle (on Twitter).
The old adage that defense wins championships may or may not be true, but you’ll be hard-pressed to find a title-winning team that didn’t build heavily through the draft. Rookie classes, naturally, are evaluated on the perceived upside of the NFL newcomers, but which rookies are ready to contribute right out of the gate? And, how do they fit in with their new team schematically?
To help us forecast the immediate future of these NFL neophytes, we enlisted the help of draft guru Dave-Te Thomas who has served as a scouting personnel consultant to NFL teams for multiple decades.
First Round – Keanu Neal, S (Florida, No. 17 overall)
When the Falcons drafted Neal, they did so with the idea that he would start at strong safety from Day 1. That’s exactly how the Falcons are going to use the youngster just as soon as he rebounds from his “trunk” injury that has dogged him in recent weeks. 
Neal is a smooth, fluid mover who has done quite a nice job of making plays at the opposite side of the field, thanks to his burst, second gear, and ability to sift through traffic to get to the ball. He shows excellent ball reactionary skills, along with the quick decision-making process to close on the play with good urgency. He can change direction in an instant and does a nice job of maintaining position when challenged by lead blockers assisting vs. the ground game.
He has the nimble feet you would want in a free safety, along with the loose hips to recover quickly when a receiver gets behind him. He can turn and run with the speediest of receivers, as he is a savvy player who knows how to disrupt the route’s progression by using his hands to knock his coverage assignments off stride. He has the loose hips and sudden burst to close on the ball in a hurry and shows good body control in transition. Neal has excellent hand/eye coordination, along with the leaping ability to get fine elevation going up to get to the pass at its high point (team’s active interception leader). He is quick and fast, which allows him to keep plays in front of him and mirror even the swift flankers and split ends in deep secondary coverage.
While he is too valuable as a centerfielder to remove him from either safety position, he has the speed, range and mirroring ability to excel as a slot cornerback, as he is fluid and calm in one-on-one confrontations with split ends and flankers, along with showing the physicality to reroute tight ends and slot backs working in the short areas. Neal has the quickness, agility, and speed needed in the slot to more than handle any NFL No. 3 receiver. His play is reminiscent of Ryan Clark in terms of his ability to quickly locate the receiver and stay on the hip of his man throughout the route.
Neal came into this draft with experience at both safety positions, but thanks to the recent success that the Cardinals and Rams had in utilizing big safeties to play the Cover-2 linebacker role, Neal drew extra attention. Handling Cover-2 assignments at the next level will see Neal return to his roots as he was a second level defender during his days at South Sumter High School.
Continue reading about the Falcons’ rookies..
- Nose tackle Chris Mayes, an undrafted rookie from Georgia, suffered a foot injury early in practice on Monday and was waived/injured by the Falcons on Tuesday, as D. Orlando Ledbetter of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution writes. Mayes, who was listed as the fourth-string nose tackle on the depth chart, was unlikely to make the team.
- The Falcons have claimed guard Jordan Walsh off waivers from the Saints and waived fellow guard Shahbaz Ahmed, per Vaughn McClure of ESPN.com.
Here are today’s minor moves:
- The Dolphins have signed defensive end Cedric Reed, tweets Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald. The former Texas product spent last season on the Bills’ practice squad.
- The Eagles have released offensive lineman Malcolm Bunche and wideout Deon Long, reports Zach Berman of The Philadelphia Inquirer (via Twitter). Bunche, a 2015 undrafted free agent, spent last season on Philly’s practice squad. Long, meanwhile, was added by the Eagles in early August after having been cut by the Rams.
Earlier updates:
- The Steelers announced that they’ve placed special teams ace Ross Ventrone on injured reserve after he was injured in the club’s first preseason game. Pittsburgh also waived/injured offensive tackle Brian Mihalik and defensive tackle Roy Philon. To take those roster spots, the Steelers signed offensive tackle Wade Hansen, defensive tackle Khaynin Mosley-Smith, and cornerback Julian Whigham.
- The Falcons‘ roster is back to 90 players after the team signed defensive back Ryan White, the club announced today.
- The Jets have signed DL Jake Ceresna and RB Terry Williams, per Seth Walder of The New York Daily News (via Twitter). Walder adds that DL Christo Bilukidi left camp, and the team waived Anthony Kelly.
- The Browns have signed WR Ed Eagan and have waived/injured Rannell Hall. The team also reached an injury settlement with DL Kyle Rose (Twitter link via Nate Ulrich of The Akron Beacon Journal).
- The Cardinals have released LB Zack Wagenmann with an injury settlement and have signed DT Iosia Iosia, Darren Urban of AZCardinals.com tweets. Wagenmann, whom Arizona signed as a UDFA out of Montana last season, missed his entire rookie campaign after breaking his foot twice. He set Montana’s career sacks (37.5) and tackles for loss (53) records. The Titans signed Iosia as a UDFA this season, but he was waived in May.
- David Mims II and the Falcons reached an injury settlement, clearing the way for the team and the rookie cornerback to part ways, D. Orlando Ledbetter of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution tweets.
- The Falcons are working out free agent quarterback Seth Lobato, according to a source who spoke with Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle (on Twitter). Since going undrafted out of Northern Colorado in 2014, Lobato has spent time with Indianapolis, Miami and Tampa Bay, but he hasn’t appeared in an NFL game.
- The Falcons have signed running back Cyrus Gray, a former sixth-round pick of Kansas City, Vaughn McClure of ESPN.com tweets. Gray will give Atlanta an extra RB as third-stringer Terron Ward is in a walking boot following a left ankle injury.
- The Falcons signed linebacker Matt Wells and released Dominique Tovell shortly before practice on Tuesday, as D. Orlando Ledbetter of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution writes.