SE Atlanta News

FLOWERY BRANCH, Ga. — Grady Jarrett made a notable return to the field, demonstrating his resilience and skill as he began his 10th NFL season. Jarrett's comeback follows a challenging recovery from a torn anterior cruciate ligament that sidelined him for the final nine games of the 2023 season.

As a former fifth-round pick often considered undersized, Jarrett has consistently outperformed expectations. Known for his work ethic, he has evolved into a premier player in the NFL. This was evident in last Sunday's game against the Pittsburgh Steelers.

Jarrett participated in 44 of 66 defensive snaps, recording three tackles, 1.5 sacks, three quarterback pressures, and one run stuff. He also achieved three quarterback hits, surpassing John Abraham's franchise record with 117 career hits. These statistics underscore Jarrett's impressive performance beyond just numbers.

Falcons fans are familiar with Jarrett's strong performances, as is Arthur Smith, who coached against him on Sunday and has named him captain during each of his three seasons as Falcons head coach.

The Steelers ran the ball on 41 of their 66 offensive snaps to limit Jarrett's impact. Despite this strategy reducing his pass-rushing opportunities to just 18 snaps, Jarrett still managed to make significant contributions with three quarterback pressures and 1.5 sacks.

On those limited pass rush snaps, Jarrett achieved a pressure rate of 16.7%, tying for seventh in the NFL for Week 1 despite playing more run-defending snaps than any other player with a similar pressure rate. His ability to convert pressures into sacks was also notable; he ranked second in sack rate at 8.3%, only behind New England's Keion White (10%).

Next Gen Stats highlighted that Jarrett accounted for 42.9% of the Falcons' pressure and generated positive pass rushes on two-thirds of his attempts. Additionally, he faced double teams on half of his pass rush snaps—the highest rate among players recording multiple sacks that week.

Jarrett’s career reflects consistent high performance under double-team conditions since 2018, registering significant pressures and converting them into sacks at an impressive rate.

Looking ahead to Week 2 against the Philadelphia Eagles presents another challenge for the Falcons defense led by Jarrett and supported by safeties Jessie Bates III and Justin Simmons. The team allowed only one reception on three targets last week and did not concede any touchdowns—one of only two teams in the league to achieve this feat.

The Falcons' defense excelled last season by allowing minimal yards per target in the middle third of the field—a trend that continued against Pittsburgh as they avoided targeting this area entirely due to Bates' presence.

Arthur Smith acknowledged Bates' influence during a press conference: "That was my respect to Jessie Bates... he's arguably one of the top players in the league." Bates’ performance since joining Atlanta includes notable interception stats and coverage success rates that significantly impact opponents' strategies.

As opponents continue to navigate around Bates and Simmons this season, it will be intriguing to observe how they adapt their game plans against such formidable defenders.