With the Atlanta Falcons set to head into training camp later this summer, the team may have a camp battle on the defensive side.
Atlanta’s inside linebacker room currently consists of Kaden Elliss, Nate Landman, Troy Andersen, rookie J.D. Bertrand and others.
Seventh-year veteran Kaden Elliss, signed a three-year, $21,500,000 contract with the Falcons last offseason. In his first year under contract for the team, Elliss tallied 122 total tackles and four sacks in 17 games. With Elliss presumed to get the nod as a starter once again in the 2024 season, who will be his running mate?
Troy Andersen
A second-round pick out of Montana State University in 2022 by the Falcons. Andersen has been a solid contributor on the defensive side of the ball since coming into the league. In his rookie year, he recorded 69 total tackles and one forced fumble. In 2023, however, he tallied just 19 total tackles and 0.5 sacks in two of the first three games of the season, before suffering a shoulder injury, sidelining him for the remainder of the year. Andersen has had electrifying speed ever since he was a young boy. Rick Nordahl, Andersens’s high school coach at Beaverhead County High School, was impressed with Andersen’s speed from the time he watched Andersen play flag football as a child. “I remember him sprinting around, taking down flags and usually taking down players who were two years older than him,” Nordahl said. “His speed was unlimited.” When the NFL draft combine came around in 2022, Andersen would get an opportunity to show it off to the league. Andersen ran a 4.42 40-yard dash that would become the fastest recorded time by a linebacker in that year.
Nate Landman
An undrafted free agent out of the University of Colorado for the Falcons in 2022. In his rookie year, Landman was mostly seen on special teams but made one tackle across the seven games he had appeared in. In 2023, Landman started in place of Troy Andersen after the latter’s injury. He would go on to have a stellar season as a full-time starter. He recorded 110 total tackles, two sacks, three forced fumbles, and one interception across 16 total games (14 games as a starter). Landman would miss only one game due to a shoulder injury he had suffered in Week 13 against the New York Jets. Landman impressed many people last season, including former defensive coordinator Ryan Nielsen, who was well aware of Landman’s talents since OTA’s last offseason. “This is a guy that was punching the ball out,” Nielsen said. “Always around the ball, had to make the most of every opportunity, stayed in the right mindset, kept working, learned the defense.” With a brand new staff coming in on the defensive side of the ball, Landman has an opportunity to show them why he deserves to remain as a starter in 2024.
Both Andersen and Landman have bonded and become close teammates since coming into the league together, as the two linebackers regularly watched and discussed film together during the regular seasons. In an interview with the media this offseason, Andersen would refer to Landman as a “tremendous player” and a “throwback, old-school thumper”.
Both players make great cases to get the starting job early on, alongside Kaden Elliss. With new defensive coordinator Jimmy Lake coming into the fold, he could choose to get creative with his defensive schemes. Lake stated in an interview that the team will be using a base 3-4 defense (two inside linebackers on the field) this upcoming season. Head coach Raheem Morris, however, stated that 3 linebackers may be seen on the field at the same time, which would make for an interesting combination of talents come September.
So, who will get the initial starting job when Week 1 rolls around? It’s anyone’s guess at this moment in time. But with the team's training camp set to begin in the coming weeks, we could see answers very soon.
