Falcons unsurprisingly work out tight ends Tuesday

Jordan Matthews is the most familiar name on the list.

The Falcons are going to constantly work out players throughout the season, and as time goes on and injuries and ineffectiveness become inevitable parts of the team’s story, we’ll probably see more new additions to the roster.

This week, the theme appears to be tight end and the secondary, as four of the five players the team worked out yesterday fit the bill.

The name you probably know on this list is Jordan Matthews. At one time, he was a terrific young receiver, amassing over 2,500 yards and 19 touchdowns in his first three seasons with the Eagles. Injuries and drops began to take a toll on his career after that, and he eventually converted to tight end and has seen little playing time over the past two seasons. He might be an interesting addition for the Falcons practice squad, but it’s tough to see where he fits on this roster at the moment.

Helm overlapped with Matthews in San Francisco. A former undrafted free agent pickup out of Duke by the Chargers back in 2019, Helm was regarded as an interesting developmental prospect owing to his athleticism, blocking and pass catching potential, and the 49ers gave him work in five games last year on offense and special teams. Like Matthews, he’d be a candidate to join the practice squad if the Falcons liked what they saw, but I wouldn’t imagine he’d push, say, Parker Hesse off the roster right now.

Will Sunderland is a 6’2” cornerback who has spent time with the Packers, Colts and Seahawks since entering the league last year as an undrafted free agent. He has intriguing size, at minimum, and put together a killer final year at Troy.

Maurice Smith is a 26-year-old safety who has been in the league since 2017, joining the Dolphins as an undrafted free agent and spending time with Washington, Cincinnati and Tennessee.

Josh Watson is a 25-year-old linebacker who has three defensive snaps to his name, but has played in 17 NFL regular season games on special teams, playing about 35% of Denver’s special teams snaps over the past two seasons. He’d be an addition for Marquice Williams.

We’ll see if any of these players end up signing with Atlanta, but for now, they’re names to potentially know for the future.