Falcons Roster Cuts: Has DeMarcco Hellams Done Enough?

Despite entering the 2023 NFL Draft fresh off leading Alabama in tackles, safety DeMarcco Hellams fell all the way to the seventh round ... and it appears the Atlanta Falcons may be major beneficiaries.

Hellams, 23, has been one of the biggest risers throughout Atlanta's training camp and preseason, starting out with the third-team defense and ending as the leader in both tackles (18) and interceptions (two) while adding three passes defended.

It's prompted a pretty interesting question - how did Hellams, who starred on one of college football's most prestigious programs, fall to the seventh round?

Here's what Falcons coach Arthur Smith said ...

“I’m not a draft guru - I don’t make predictions," Smith said. "We just try to find good football players. We get lucky wherever they fall, sometimes it’s luck, it’s what people are looking for, I don’t know. Every story is different. It’s hard to play in the NFL.

"We just try to give guys opportunities, and we’ll see how his journey continues.”

But understanding Hellams' draft day fall isn't the most pressing concern - instead, it's whether his stellar preseason was enough to make Atlanta's 53-man roster out of camp.

Largely considered to be in competition with Micah Abernathy to be the No. 4 safety, Hellams was on the right side of the roster bubble in our latest projections at SI's Falcon Report.

A key part of the equation is Hellams' ability to make plays on special teams; he was consistently impactful there at Alabama, and Smith said the rookie's been "solid" in that regard during his short time in Atlanta.

When asked about Hellams' status in regard to making the roster, Smith declined to reveal a decision ... but after the work the Washington, D.C., native has put in this summer, it certainly feels like he should avoid being cut.

But it's not entirely that simple - Smith believes the Falcons have a lot of talent, often declaring how competitive the roster is and how challenging it will be to make the team ... and with players like Hellams emerging, the decisions only become more difficult.

“We have a lot of good football players," Smith said. "We have a lot of tough decisions to make.”

The final determination on Hellams' future will be in by 4 p.m. EST Tuesday - but regardless of whether he's in Atlanta or somewhere else, his impressive camp and subsequent preseason has almost certainly earned himself a chance somewhere in the league.

And that, by all accounts, makes for quite the story after being drafted No. 224 overall with no guarantees of playing professional football.