Jeff Ulbrich Details Replacing Injured Atlanta Falcons LB Divine Deablo

Atlanta Falcons general manager Terry Fontenot has had a very good track record with his defensive additions in free agency. From Jessie Bates III to Kaden Elliss, Fontenot's work on that side of the ball in the offseason has been top notch.

That continued so far this season with the addition of linebacker Divine Deablo. Deablo was acquired by Fontenot and the Falcons from the Las Vegas Raiders in free agency to bring more dynamism to the role. He's delivered in a big way, helping to lead the Falcons to the league's No. 2 defense through seven weeks.

Deablo broke his arm early in Sunday night's game against the San Francisco 49ers, and his absence was immediately felt. The Falcons gave up a season high 174 yards, and the 49ers were the first team to break 300 yards of total offense against Atlanta.

Second-year linebacker JD Bertrand filled in for Deablo, but it sounds like defensive coordinator Jeff Ulbrich will cast a wider net with a week to plan for his star linebacker's absence against the Miami Dolphins on Sunday.

“It’s going to be a kind of replace-him-by-committee a little bit, because as we all know, he's very unique in the fact that he is, from an athletic profile standpoint, he's very DB-ish. From a size standpoint, he's very linebacker-ish," Ulbrich said on Wednesday.

"So, we're going to replace him with that, with some DBs at times, and we'll replace him with some linebacker at times. We're fortunate that we have a JD Bertrand here who is insanely intelligent, understands our scheme at the highest level, so he's going to get a great opportunity to play some more, and there's some other guys, too, that are going to step in and do something with what Divine does.”

Ulbrich didn't limit those options to just Bertrand, or even to just linebackers for that matter. He was pressed on the use of safeties DeMarcco Hellams and Jordan Fuller as well as linebacker Josh Woods, and safety turned linebacker Ronnie Harrison.

“It's a combination of all those guys, absolutely. So, we're going to give everybody a little bit of Divine's role. And there is a competitive element this week to see who does the best and who deserves the opportunity to play a little bit more,” Ulbrich said.

Bertrand struggled against the 49ers, but he's not likely to face another Christian McCaffrey any time soon. Despite his struggles in space last year and as evidenced against the 49ers, Ulbrich likes what Bertrand brings to the table.

“He's a very unique player in the fact that he can play MIKE, he can play WILL," Ulbrich said of Betrand. "He can play on the line of scrimmage, off the line of scrimmage. Obviously, he can handle the full special team load at the same time, and then go out there and play.

"From an execution standpoint, like virtually flawless in a lot of ways. So, we're very fortunate to have a guy like him. He's a backup for us, but definitely a starter ability. He brings a toughness. He brings some anticipatory stuff that's very unique because he sees the game in a unique way, especially from the running perspective.

"He'll bring an element that we didn't have, too, so we'll be excited to have him play some more.”

Bertrand's liabilities in coverage should mean more opportunities for a third safety like Hellams and Fuller to see the field on second and third down. The Dolphins have the league's 29th-ranked rushing attack, so the Falcons hope to see a lot of second and third-and-longs on defense.

The Falcons face the 5-2 Patriots after the Dolphins. They have the No. 22 rushing offense in the league. However, they'll hope to have Deablo back for the trip to Germany to face Jonathan Taylor and the 6-1 Indianapolis Colts.

Taylor leads the NFL in both rushing yards (697) and rushing touchdowns (10).

Deablo has played his best football for the Falcons this year, and he's helped turn the Falcons unit into one of the best defenses Atlanta has seen in decades. The Falcons will need him back to continue the torrid pace on defense that they've set in their first six games.