NFL.com expert believes Vic Beasley will break out in 2016
The Atlanta Falcons nailed their selection of Vic Beasley with the eighth-overall pick in 2015. At least, that’s what we saw after his spectacular rookie seson.
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He made 26 tackles, four sacks, two fumbles and one interception, and it should only get better. NFL.com’s Conor Orr also is buying the hype, listing them as one of the top-five rookies from last season to “not forget about.”
Beasley can do it all as a linebacker. He was solid against the pass, putting pressure on the quarterback and stopping the run. As Dan Quinn did a remarkable job improving a defense that was the league’s worst in 2014, Orr believes Beasley is on the edge of doing something special:
Orr complimented the “pop he can provide at his size,” while acknowledging his decline in play during the second half of 2015 was attributed to the torn labrum. Here’s more from what Orr said:
“Atlanta’s defense (like Jacksonville’s, Seattle’s, etc.) is adaptive instead of reactive, meaning that the goal is to force the offense to adjust. This is meant to eliminate extraneous responsibilities and an extended learning curve, which can help a fast player like Beasley play even faster.”
It’ll be interesting to see if Quinn tries to use Beasley more as a pass-rusher or more in the secondary this season. They added Derrick Shelby, Sean Weatherspoon and Courtney Upshaw to address the league’s worst pass-rush from 2015.
Beasley and Desmond Trufant do give the Falcons a defense to be very excited about. Now, it’s time for Beasley to take the next step and prove he’s about to become one of the league’s top defensive stars.
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