There should be some of the fiercest competition on the roster in the secondary this summer. Erik Coleman seems locked in as the starting free safety. But at the other safety spot, William Moore and Thomas DeCoud are set to compete. Chris Houston is probably a longshot to lose his starting job this summer, but could be challenged somewhat if he doesn’t have a strong summer. The other corner spot will be up for grabs however.

Competing for that vacant corner spot will be Chevis Jackson, Von Hutchins, Brent Grimes, and Chris Owens. Jackson is currently ahead on the depth chart, but there have been reports that the team would rather have him working inside as  the nickel corner this year. That opens up opportunity for the others. Hutchins has the experience, but missed all of last year with injury, and will need to bounce back with a really strong summer. Owens has the speed the team would like to see outside, but he’s a rookie and with veterans ahead of him, it might be best to bring him along a bit more slowly. Grimes handled the gig for the first half of last year before losing his job to Domonique Foxworth. He’ll need to re-instill confidence in the coaching staff. He’s tough and fast, but undersized and it showed too often last year. Unless he’s grown a few inches, he’ll be hard-pressed to win.

Without a strong summer, Grimes could find himself released by the team since he didn’t show great special teams ability last yera.

Also in the mix are David Irons and William Middleton. Both players are likely only going to play on special teams this year. The team likes Middleton’s athleticism, which means he may have greater upside on defense than Irons, who has only gotten a handful of snaps there in the past two seasons.

As for safety, William Moore is probably the safer bet since he’s a better fit for the scheme at strong safety and has much greater upside. But Moore will need to show he’s not a liability in coverage, something that he proved to be on occasion while at Missouri last year. DeCoud is not stellar in coverage either, but is a bit undersized than what the team is looking for at the position. But he’s got a year’s worth of experience over Moore and thus could potentailly have a shorter learning curve as a starter.

Jamaal Fudge has more experience, performing well in a season finale start last year. But he’s only likely looked up on as a fallback option in case either Moore or DeCoud don’t work out. Also in the mix at safety are Eric Brock and Antoine Harris who will need to show ability on special teams and in coverage on defense to stick, since at best they will only be used in the occasional dime package there.  Also at corner are Tony Tiller and Glenn Sharpe, both of whom are unlikely to land a roster spot, but could wind up on the practice squad.

The Falcons will likely keep up to ten defensive backs on the roster. Right now, the safe bets for the starting spots appear to be Jackson and Moore, but Owens and DeCoud aren’t bad options as dark horses.

Updating a previous report, Scout.com reports that the three rookie contracts that were disapproved by the league have now been approved. The contracts of third round pick Chris Owens, fifth round pick Garrett Reynolds, and sixth round pick Spencer Adkins had to be re-done. Pro Football Talk reported previously that the reason for the league’s disapproving of the contracts was due to language oversight involving incentives.

According to the NFLPA website, all three players signed four-year contracts with base salaries of: $310,000 (2009); $395,000 (2010); $480,000 (2011); and $565,000 (2012).  Owens received a signing bonus of $688,000, while Reynolds got around $180,000. It is unknown how much of a signing bonus Adkins got. But as the 176th overall pick, he likely got a sum around $115,000 considering that the 178th overall pick (Seahawks quarterback Mike Teel) signed for $114,000.

Scout.com reports that the contracts signed by three of the Falcons recent draft picks have been disapproved by the league. The specifics of what exactly in the contracts was disapproved is unknown, but according to the report they were all minor and all should be fixed and up to league standards by early next week.

The three contracts disapproved were offensvie tackle Garrett Reynolds, cornerback Chris Owens, and linebacker Spencer Adkins. Per Scout.com, all three players signed four-year deals. Reynolds received a signing bonus of just over $180,000 while Owens got $688,000 in bonus money. All three players signed their deals within the last ten days.

The team announced the signing of sixth round linebacker Spencer Adkins today. He becomes the fifth draft pick to sign with the team, following the signings of Chris Owens and Garrett Reynolds last week.

Adkins is expected to add depth for the team at linebacker, having played both inside and outside linebacker at Miami during his collegiate career. The team only has three remaining unsigned rookies: first rounder Peria Jerry, second rounder William Moore, and fourth rounder Lawrence Sidbury.

Terms of Adkins’ contract were not announced, but it is expected to be a four-year deal like the others signed by the team’s draft picks.

he Falcons continue their push to improve the defense by taking San Jose State cornerback Christopher Owens with their third round pick (90th overall).

A bit undersized at 5’10″ 181, Owens was a productive player at San Jose State. A three-year starter with 13 career interceptions and 20 pass break ups. He had his most productive year as a junior with six interceptions, where he was constantly tested due the presence of Dwight Lowery across the field who started 10 games this past year as a fourth round pick for the New York Jets. This past year his production slipped to only 1 interception, perhaps because opposing teams learned their lesson from the previous year.

Owens helps bolster the Falcons cornerback position, as the team hopes he can alleviate the loss of free agent corner Domonique Foxworth. Owens can potentially push and challenge for a starting position right away.