Atlanta Falcons Breakout Candidate, May Have Already Broken Out

Atlanta Falcons interior defensive lineman Brandon Dorlus was tagged for a breakout season by ESPN’s Ben Solak. Is Solak right for picking Dorlus as a breakout candidate heading into year three? 

The Falcons have a litany of young, productive players, giving analysts several players to choose from when it comes to breakout candidates. NFL Network recently chose safety Xavier Watts, who some might argue broke out as a rookie.

Solak chooses Dorlus, who like Watts had a big season last year, but is still flying under the radar on a national scale.

"The lightbulb is coming on for Dorlus, and I'm loving it," Solak wrote on ESPN. "He had 8.5 sacks last season, seven of which came in the back half. A true tweener out of college, Dorlus spent most of his time with Oregon on the edge but has bulked up to play on the interior over two years in Atlanta.

Why is Dorlus a breakout candidate?

Dorlus is coming off an excellent year in which he led NFC interior defensive linemen with 8.5 sacks. Dorlus entered the NFL as a question mark. He was too small to play on the interior, but not athletic enough to be on the edge. He was basically redshirted his rookie season, along with fellow draft pick Ruke Orhorhoro as first-time defensive coordinator Jimmy Lake played a two-man front in his base 2-4-5 prevent defense.

A change of coordinators in his second season was a blessing for Dorlus, and frankly, the rest of the Falcons' defense. Atlanta brought in Jeff Ulbrich as the new defensive coordinator, and Dorlus fit perfectly into Ulbrich's system.

However, . After bulking up following his injury, Ulbrich used Dorlus on the interior, and he thrived as a disruptor in the backfield. Dorlus uses his undersized frame to his advantage and is able to slip between blocks and double teams. His athleticism also makes him dangerous on stunts. 

"He is especially effective as a looper or crasher in blitz packages, with a great knack for becoming skinny as he works through the line of scrimmage," Solak continued.

With Ulbrich, he is certainly in a great position to have an excellent season and become a true star on this young Falcons defense, but what would be considered a breakout year for Dorlus? 

What is a Breakout?

To be fair, I considered last season a breakout for Dorlus, but as someone who doesn't follow the Falcons closely, he's a logical choice. He still has not broken onto the national scene as a premier defensive tackle. 

That is the next step for him, but what does that look like? Dorlus had 8.5 sacks last year, an impressive number, but as Solak mentioned in his article, a lot of that production came as cleanup from pressures produced by the edge rushers. Doing this is still valuable, but it doesn’t put Dorlus in that upper tier of defensive tackles. 

If Dorlus can develop some better “win now” pass rush moves and, in turn, improve his pressure rate as well as his run-stopping prowess, I believe this will put him into that upper tier of interior defensive linemen. 

Right now, Dorlus is considered a solid defensive tackle, so becoming an elite one is what should be considered another breakout year for Dorlus. It is a tall task for someone for a former fourth-round pick entering just his third season in the league, but some around the league believe he is up to the task.