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Marc Raimondi, ESPN Staff Writer
FLOWERY BRANCH, Ga. — Justin Simmons went to dinner last week with Atlanta Falcons coach Raheem Morris and general manager Terry Fontenot at Chops Lobster Bar in the upscale Buckhead section of Atlanta. Three Falcons players — defensive lineman Grady Jarrett, cornerback A.J. Terrell and safety Jessie Bates III — came along in an effort to woo one of the top free agents left on the market.
The thing that stood out most to Simmons, a four-time second-team All-Pro safety, was the hunger at the table. Not for the specialty filet mignon pepper steak, but for the possibility of winning.
Simmons had never been to the playoffs in eight years with the Denver Broncos. The Falcons haven’t been since 2017, but they have set themselves up this year as the betting favorite to win the NFC South due to new additions like quarterback Kirk Cousins and a core of young skill players, led by running back Bijan Robinson and Drake London.
“[Jarrett] set the tone and said … [winning] is pretty much the most important thing to him right now, and the team,” Simmons said. “And getting back to where Atlanta is used to being. … It’s gonna sound contradictory, but I know what winning doesn’t look like, so I know what it takes in some instances to get to that side of it.”
Simmons, 30, had other options, most notably the Falcons’ biggest rival, the New Orleans Saints, with whom he visited earlier in August. He liked the conversation at the table. And then, after hearing that Atlanta was trading a third-round draft pick to the New England Patriots to get Pro Bowl pass rusher Matthew Judon?
“I pretty much called my agent [Todd France] and said, ‘We gotta get this done,'” Simmons said.
Both Judon and Simmons were on the grass Monday for practice at the Falcons’ facility. Judon did one-on-one drills, but also got a few reps with the first-team defense. He had already been practicing during training camp with the Patriots, and team strength coach John Griffin told Morris that Judon was pretty close to being a full go. Judon’s main goal now is learning the playbook.
Simmons did one-on-one drills and was off to the side running. He had been working out on his own in the offseason but had not been with a team for training camp. He’s a bit further away.
Not that far away, though. Week 1 is less than three weeks away, and the Falcons hope to ramp up both and get them integrated into their scheme under defensive coordinator Jimmy Lake in time to play the Pittsburgh Steelers.
“You can feel real intellectual, smart football players who can just pick up on and be able to do whatever you need to do in order to get ready,” Morris said. “So, I feel good on that lead-up week going into the Pittsburgh game and getting those guys ready to go.”
Morris said he could envision using Simmons, who had a league-leading six interceptions in 2022, and Bates, also one of the best safeties in the league, in a rotation with Richie Grant, much like how Atlanta has been featuring a three-man rotation at inside linebacker: Nate Landman, Kaden Elliss and Troy Andersen.
Judon’s job will be relatively simple: get to the quarterback. The Falcons have struggled to do that for a long time. Over the past three seasons, the Falcons ranked last in sack percentage and pressure percentage, while ranking 31st in pass rush win rate, per ESPN Stats & Information. Atlanta hasn’t had a double-digit sack leader since Vic Beasley in 2016, which was the last time the team made the Super Bowl. And over the past five seasons, the Falcons have had 23 fewer sacks than any other team in the league.
Morris said in a perfect world, a team would want two top pass rushers. Atlanta doesn’t have another stand out like Judon, but Jarrett on the interior is a force and second-year player Arnold Ebiketie has shown promise. Morris said the addition of Judon has the potential of providing openings for Jarrett, Ebiketie, edge rusher Lorenzo Carter and even Elliss, who has flashed pass-rushing ability. Ebiketie was helping Judon with the plays on the sidelines Monday, and the two were opposite each other on downs Judon practiced.
“When you have those groups of people working together, rushing as one, I think that’s what makes the elite talent,” said Morris, a former Los Angeles Rams defensive coordinator. “Working with a guy like Aaron Donald [with the Rams] and being able to configure things around him really was helpful.”
Judon, meanwhile, said he was happy to be in Atlanta and embracing the idea of helping people like Jarrett get more sacks if he’s double-teamed. The Louisiana native wore a University of Georgia shirt to his first press conference and opened with the line: “Go Dawgs.”
“You see the culture, you see how [Morris] interacts with the players and how the players interact with each other,” Judon said. … “You see that the locker room is stable, and I don’t know if y’all ever been in there or whatever, but people are mixed up in different sections. It’s not just like the DBs right here, all the DBs. And so, you don’t got that like cliquey, posse-type stuff. Everybody’s intertwined in some type of way.”
Morris actually found out firsthand how quickly Judon can get to space. Judon traveled with the Falcons for their preseason game last Saturday against the Baltimore Ravens and, on the way back, Judon took the first spot on the first bus: Morris’ seat.
“I got to establish dominance pretty early on that,” Morris said with a laugh.
Atlanta’s defense might not necessarily be dominant in 2024, but it’s looking significantly better than it was a week ago.