Linebackers coach sees young group as a strength

FLOWERY BRANCH — Falcons linebackers coach Jeff Ulbrich isn’t looking at Tuesday’s start of organized team activities entirely as a beginning even though his group includes four rookies and two second-year players.

A little more than a month after the Falcons drafted speedy LSU linebacker Duke Riley in the third round, Ulbrich considers the linebacker corps’ youth to be a great asset.

He’s convinced that because his top three linebackers are so young — Deion Jones and De’Vondre Campbell are entering their second seasons and Vic Beasley his third — they can better raise Riley to be part of the game-day rotation.

“Yeah, no doubt,” Ulbrich said. “The longer you play in this league, the more removed you become from those emotions and that growth process. The fact that he’s got ... not only two guys that just went through it, but successfully. And on top of that, they’re such good teammates that they want to bring him along.”

Jones, a second-round pick in 2016, played in 15 regular-season games and started 13. He finished the regular season with 108 combined tackles and assists and three interceptions.

Campbell, a fourth-round pick, played 11 games, starting 10. He had 48 tackles, seven pass breakups and an interception.

Falcons fans can expect to see plenty of them. Beyond that, it’s too early to say.

Beasley is listed as an outside linebacker but doesn’t often play there when the Falcons run a four-man front. He’s the prototypical hybrid linebacker-end in today’s NFL — a pass rusher deluxe.

The Falcons’ pass-coverage linebacker last season, Philip Wheeler, is a free agent, and so is Sean Weatherspoon, whose season ended last year in injury. Paul Worrilow left through free agency, joining the Lions.

Returning — at least before rosters are trimmed — are reserves LaRoy Reynolds, who played in 16 games, and Josh Keyes, who played in one game after joining the team from Tampa Bay.

They’re joined by Riley and undrafted rookie free agents Darius English from South Carolina, Jermaine Grace of Miami and Christian Tago of San Jose State.

The lack of NFL experience does not bother Ulbrich because Jones, Campbell and Beasley grew so quickly into major contributors.

It won’t hurt that Jones played with Riley at LSU, and they’re friends.

“You know, a lot of guys get so caught up in the competitive nature of this league and business that they lose sight of developing the man next to them because they feel like that’s threatening their own occupation,” Ulbrich said. “But he’s got two guys who are not like that at all. He’s got great teammates who’ve just been through this growth process.”

Riley can just about count on Jones as a starter. For all the sorting that Ulbrich and other Falcons coaches face, Jones is a lock.

All other predictions of what positions these linebackers will play are to be determined.

Jeff Ulbrich succeeded coaching young linebackers last season.