After ‘Making Life Hell’ in practice, Atlanta Falcons Rookie deserves a bigger role

While Atlanta Falcons defensive tackle for a newcomer Ruke Orhorhoro wait for a bigger role, perhaps no other teammate understands his feelings better than the quarterback Kirk cousins.

When Cousins ​​was a freshman at Michigan State in 2007, Spartan offensive coordinator Don Treadwell gave him a challenge: Play so well on the scout team that when the coaching staff goes back to watch film, they’re like, ‘I can’t wait to Look what this man can ever do in the game.’

And that is exactly what Orhorhoro, the Falcons second round pick in April’s draftdid.

“He made life hell on our starting offensive line,” Falcons defensive coordinator Jimmy Lake said Thursday. “That’s what he was doing. He was in the backfield. He was shock-locking and sent the offensive line back into the backfield.

“And so he didn’t do it on every play, but it came up enough. If you do it against our offensive baseline, it will probably translate to our opponent in a real game. And that is certainly true.”

The Falcons Podcast: WATCH | Spotify | Apple pods

After getting a healthy start in the first four games of the season, Orhorhoro made his NFL debut on October 3 against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Thursday Night Football. He has played in each of the three games since then, collecting four tackles and a quarterback hit.

The 23-year-old Orhorhoro saw 12 snaps (23% of the defense’s total) in his first outing before playing 22 snaps (33%) against the Carolina Panthers in Week 6 and 17 snaps (28%) against the Seattle Seahawks in week 7.

Part of the reason for Orhorhoro’s delayed action stems from the depth of the defensive line. Falcons head coach Raheem Morris routinely touts the team’s six proven commodities up front: Grady Jarrett, David Onyemata, Ta’Quon Graham, Eddie Goldman, Zach Harrison and Kentavius ​​Street.

Besides Atlanta’s natural preference for experience, Morris believes rookie linemen – both offensive and defensive – are comparable to quarterbacks, noting the need to adapt to the speed and power of the professional game.

Thus, the trusted group of seasoned veterans gave Morris and the staff the “luxury” of keeping Orhorhoro on the sidelines early. Atlanta’s pass rush ranks last in the NFL with six sacks, but the Falcons are playing the long game with Orhorhoro.

Still, his play on the field forces the Falcons’ hand.

“Ruke’s progress earned him the right to go out and take some shots,” Lake said. “And now you’ve seen him get more shots every week, and you’ll see him get even more shots as we go along.”

Lake chose to avoid comparisons to the 6-foot-4, 295-pound Orhorhoro, citing the uniqueness of his size, strength and athleticism, while noting he will wait until more plays are made and more numbers are produced to drop other NFL defenses. linemen.

But Morris took a different approach.

As the Los Angeles Rams’ defensive coordinator in 2023, Morris watched another starting defensive tackle, third-round pick Kobie Turner, rise to become one of the sport’s best young pass rushers. Early in the year, Turner played a lot of passing duties, but as the season progressed he took on a bigger role.

While not as heavy a defensive front, the Rams relied on Aaron Donald and Bobby Brown before releasing Turner. He finished the season with nine sacks, the most of any rookie.

Morris does not compare Orhorhoro to Turner. He does find similarities in their development path.

“He became a little more comfortable. He could do a number of things. I have done really impressive things, removed blockages. So now his role has expanded,” Morris said. “It has improved. He started out with that role, but then it kind of shifted to just playing alternately.

“He’s really improving, getting the right cues, doing some really good things, doing some things that are correctable, that our coach can correct while you’re working on your process. I’m really excited where he is.”

Not overlooked in Orhorhoro’s development is his relative newness to football. The 23-year-old played in 53 games with 30 starts across five seasons at Clemson, but he didn’t take up the sport until he was a junior in high school.

Born in Lagos, Nigeria, Orhorhoro moved to the United States at the age of nine. He played on the hardwood, averaging a double-double as a sophomore in 2016 at River Rouge High School, about 10 miles southwest of Detroit.

Now, seven years after playing his first organized football match, Orhorhoro finds himself at the sport’s highest level. His late start may play a role in his long learning curve, but it also gives him potential. Lake would like to help take advantage of these opportunities.

“From above the neck for him, so smart, so committed, so interested, so interested in football,” Lake said. “And when you have players like that, who are so into it, and you just know that every day and week to week they can reach new heights, new heights, new heights – he just has to continue that fire in his belly to keep getting better, and I’m sure he will.

Orhorhoro’s rookie season continues Sunday at 1 p.m., when the Falcons (4-3) face the Tampa Bay Buccaneers (4-3) at Raymond James Stadium. It is the first time in Orhorhoro’s young career that he sees the opponent earlier.

That is, aside from his routine runs against the Falcons’ offensive line — plays that turned Cousins’ head and helped generate accurate pocket feel during practice.

Now Orhorhoro gets the chance to wreak havoc on enemy lines. His opportunity may have come later than expected given his lofty draft selection, but it came nonetheless.

And the Falcons won’t be bringing him in anytime soon.

“So many of us want things to happen so quickly, but we understand it’s a marathon and not a sprint,” Cousins ​​said. “I believe that good players will eventually rise to the surface, and I think that’s true for Ruke.”

Follow FalconsSI FACEBOOK | X | YouTube