Jaylinn Hawkins is becoming a breakout impact player on the defense

Originally posted on SportsTalkATL | By Jake Gordon | Last updated 10/26/21

In what can only be described as a breath of fresh air, the Falcons are getting great production out of second-year player Jaylinn Hawkins in the wake of injuries and inconsistency at the safety position:

If this looks similar to Week 5’s grades, that’s because it kinda is. Jaylinn Hawkins has back-to-back games as the #Falcons top graded defensive player.

Kyle Pitts has back-to-back games as the Falcons top grades offensive player. While Matt Ryan has back-to-back as 2nd best.

— Evan Birchfield (@EvanBirchfield) October 25, 2021

While PFF grades and box score stats aren’t a tell-all, Hawkins has passed the eye test with flying colors. He didn’t play a ton as a rookie, and he became a bit of an afterthought after Richie Grant was drafted. However, Hawkins has nabbed two interceptions in as many weeks, one being a crucial stop in the endzone:

#WHOLELOTTASTOPPIT
Kept fighting proud of the squad pic.twitter.com/AWkMefa0RH

— Jaylinn Hawkins (@jhawko6) October 25, 2021

Interception Alert

Jaylinn Hawkins with a great snag and puts the offense back onto the field! pic.twitter.com/xOiAThF5Lz

— Falcons Nation (@FalconsNationCP) October 10, 2021

As you can see on both passes, Hawkins displayed some impressive break on the ball and completely flipped the field for the Falcons. With AJ Terrell playing so well, Hawkins’ presence on the back end is very welcoming. When you consider he’s only 24 years old, you can get even more excited. The Falcons will need him to keep making plays if they want to keep winning games.

Thanks for reading about the progression of Jaylinn Hawkins. If you liked this article, check out another piece from Jake on how the Falcons are perfectly aligned to finally get over .500.

This article first appeared on SportsTalkATL and was syndicated with permission.

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