Next year Julio Jones Jersey Super Bowl , the defensive end position might be wide open." />Skip to main contentclockmenumore-arrownoyesThe Falcoholic homepageHorizontal - ns communityFollow The Falcoholic online:Follow The Falcoholic on TwitterFollow The Falcoholic on FacebookLog in or sign upLog InSign UpSite searchSearchSearchThe Falcoholic main menuFanpostsFanshotsLibraryFalconsOddsAboutMastheadCommunity GuidelinesStubHubMoreAll 321 blogs on Horizontal - WhiteFanposts Fanshots Library FalcFans Podcast on The FalcoholicContact The FalcoholicFalcons StoriesScheduleRosterStatsYahoo Falcons NewsYahoo Falcons Team PageYahoo Falcons ReportYahoo Falcons Depth ChartYahoo Falcons TransactionsYahoo Falcons PhotosOdds About Masthead Community Guidelines StubHub ✕Why the Falcons should look to develop a young DE this year New,29commentsNext year, the defensive end position might be wide open. EDTShare this storyShare this on FacebookShare this on TwitterShareAll sharing optionsShareAll sharing options for:Why the Falcons should look to develop a young DE this year TwitterFacebookRedditPocketFlipboardEmailPhoto by Brett Deering/Getty ImagesThe Falcons head into 2019 with three proven defensive ends and a ton of defensive tackles, and they’ll hopefully build a quality line out of that group. Whoever their fourth defensive end...ends...up being won’t be a huge part of the rotation unless they land a solid veteran.The calculus of the roster is about to change, though, as we noted the other day. The Falcons will once again head into 2020 with some questions at defensive end, as Takk McKinley is currently the only proven player who is slated to be under contract. Vic Beasley, Adrian Clayborn, and Steven Means are about to hit free agency, and John Cominsky is supposedly going to move to defensive tackle in the relatively near future, whether full-time or part-time.While I also suggested recently that roster trends in the Dan Quinn era point to the team only keeping four defensive ends—and that Takk, Beasley, Clayborn and Cominsky feel inevitable—they have reason to take a harder look at the young players they’ve assembled this summer. At the moment, there are three contenders for that fourth (or fifth Julio Jones Jersey For Sale , if Cominsky sticks purely at defensive end) spot, and the Falcons should at least strongly consider keeping one or two of them on the practice squad to mix in with next year. The first is Chris Odom, a name that probably rings a bell. Odom had a nice summer in 2017 but didn’t make the Falcons’ roster and wound up spending a little time with the Packers and then the Salt Lake City Stallions of the AAF, managing 2.5 sacks in eight games. He won’t turn 25 until the season starts and has shown flashes of pass rushing acumen in all of his stints thus far, and he’s under a two year deal with Atlanta. I’d consider him the favorite for a roster spot if there’s one available.There’s also Austin Larkin, a 24-year-old interesting athlete with 2.5 sacks in college and some solid buzz back when he was with the Cowboys, and Durrant Miles, an undrafted rookie coming off of a 4.5 sack season at Boise State. None of these three players scream high-end future starter, but the team’s need at defensive end is such that if they simply turn out to be solid rotational guys, the Falcons will have a head start on building out their 2019 defensive end mix. They need to do this because of the looming uncertainty. I’m not suggesting the Falcons will let all their defensive ends besides Takk go next year—they’re neither that broke nor that dumb—but I do think they need to start seriously thinking about what the future of the position would look like, and the potential advantages of having affordable, young depth. Wide receiver Calvin Ridley established himself quite well in Year 1 of his NFL career after being selected by the Falcons with the No. 26 overall pick. No one expected it. Not me, not the writers on the Falcoholic staff, not the Falcons fan base. But lo and behold Julio Jones Jersey On Sale , as the clock on the 26th overall selection in the 2018 NFL Draft dwindled down, the Atlanta Falcons found a prospect on the board who was considered the best at his position by plenty of draft prognosticators and decided to shoot their shot. Entering the draft, wide receiver was a position that needed to be addressed thanks to the departure of former Falcon Taylor Gabriel to the Bears in free agency. While the team held pre-draft workouts with prospects such as Javon Wims and DaeSean Hamilton, it seemed apparent that the organization would be targeting a receiver in the mid-rounds at the earliest and not at the end of the first round. Instead, the team took advantage and in Year 1, it absolutely paid off. Ridley did not get things rolling until Week 2 against Carolina, where he recorded his first career regular season touchdown on an 11-yard reception late in the second quarter. He introduced himself to the fierce NFC South rivalry that is the Falcons and the New Orleans Saints in Week 3 — in sensational fashion, I might add. In his first contest against the bitter rival, Ridley performed excellently with a seven reception, 146-yard, and three touchdown outing against the Saints. It was his only 100-yard performance of the season, and of course was the game that truly displayed how impactful he can be. The very next week against Cincinnati, Ridley posted two more touchdowns and continued to show why he was one of the top steals in the entire NFL draft. On the season, Ridley led all rookie receivers in receptions (64) Julio Jones Jersey Sale , yards (821), receiving touchdowns (10), receptions that resulted in a first down (39), and receptions of 20 yards or more (11). In the process, he also established a new Falcons rookie record in catches and receiving touchdowns His biggest attribute coming out of the University of Alabama, his route running, was on display quite often as well. Lining up next to Julio Jones freed up plenty of attention for Ridley, and you could visibly see the amount of trust that was displayed on a weekly basis between Ridley and quarterback Matt Ryan. The Falcons offense will see a new play caller in offensive coordinator Dirk Koetter for the 2019 season, and in a scheme that is based on vertical passing and timely route running, Ridley could absolutely see a considerable uprise in production and development for the 2019 season. The future is glowing for the talented pass catcher and the Falcons offense.