After hours of waiting, ladies and gentlemen, I introduce to you the best safety tandem in the NFL.
According to NFL Media’s Tom Pelissero, the Atlanta Falcons signed two-time Pro Bowl and four-time Second-Team All-Pro safety Justin Simmons. Atlanta hosted Simmons on Monday with hopes that he could buy into the vision the Falcons are selling for their defense. With safety Demarcco Hellams lost for "a significant amount of time" due to a lower leg injury, general manager Terry Fontenot's hand was forced to make a significant move to make up for the lack of depth. Turns out the move was more significant than we could have imagined.
Since getting drafted in the third round of the 2016 NFL draft out of Boston College by the Denver Broncos, Simmons has the most interceptions of any defender in the NFL with 30. He hasn't had a season where he hasn't gotten his hands on the ball at least twice, including tying the lead league in 2022 with six interceptions.
The combination of he and Bates, who was third in the league with six interceptions of his own last season, would be arguably the best safety tandem in the NFL, allowing a level of versatility in the back end that could help change the trajectory of the Falcons defense.
