Detroit Lions head coach Dan Campbell remains noncommittal on whether two of his top rookie draft picks will suit up Friday. Still, Atlanta Falcons head coach Raheem Morris had no such hesitation.
Speaking with reporters, Morris confirmed that his rookies will play when the Falcons host the Lions in their preseason opener at Mercedes-Benz Stadium. That includes first-round pick Jalon Walker and third-round pick Xavier Watts, both of whom missed practice time last week.
“Yes, they’ll be out there playing. They’ll get (in) some reps,” Morris said. “I don’t want to give an exact number, but you’ll get some number of reps out there playing.
“You talk about your rookie class, talking about getting ‘em out there, even (Michael Penix Jr.), we got him out there just for a little bit, just to get used to what it feels like and some of those things. Then we (gave) them three or four series -- I forget exactly what it was, don’t hold me to that -- but we’ll get those guys out there for a couple series and get them a feel for it.”
Walker and Watts, both recovering from their respective injuries, participated in Wednesday’s team scrimmage. Falcons edge rusher James Pearce Jr., another first-round pick, is also expected to make his preseason debut.
Meanwhile, Campbell said he’s considering whether to play first-rounder Tyleik Williams and second-round pick Tate Ratledge against the Falcons, noting that he’d like to “get them going” but hadn’t made a final decision.
“I think that that’s -- kind of last night we talked about it a little bit, and you have an idea. Really, today, whoever is playing is not going to get enough reps to really,” Campbell said Wednesday when asked about a timeline.
“They’ll have plenty of juice to play in this game at Atlanta, so you can kind of play anybody you need to.”
During their Hall of Fame game loss to the Los Angeles Chargers last Friday, one of the Lions’ top rookies, Isaac TeSlaa -- their third-round selection from this year’s NFL draft -- saw the field, catching two of his three targets for 46 yards.
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