Dominique

Davis

Davis completed 10-of-18 passes for 121 yards a touchdown against the Bengals Thursday night. He showed poise on a potential game-winning touchdown drive, but was victimized by two drops. Davis already looks better than John Parker Wilson, and will force the Falcons to consider keeping three QBs on the roster this season.

Rookie Dominique Davis’ impressive preseason earned him a roster spot, but he’s going to stay in the developmental third QB role. McCown has three years of experience in Dirk Koetter’s offense.

McCown has three years of experience in Dirk Koetter’s offense from their time together in Jacksonville. We suspect impressive rookie Dominique Davis has sewn up the No. 2 QB job, and McCown was signed for garbage-time duties in the preseason finale. The Falcons can keep McCown on speed dial if injuries strike during the season. It doesn’t hurt that he brings intel from a division rival after spending training camp with the Saints.

“He’s done some nice things,” Smith said. “He’s got a strong arm. He’s very athletic.” A redshirt freshman at Boston College when Matt Ryan was a senior, Davis finished his career at East Carolina. He’s likely practice-squad bound.

Wilson spent the first three seasons of his career bouncing around the Falcons’ practice squad. It’s a bad sign that he was never able to beat out the underwhelming Chris Redman for the backup job. The Falcons have tabbed undrafted rookie Dominique Davis as a developmental third quarterback.

Athletic with a strong arm and excellent poise, Davis has gone from pleasant early-camp surprise to Matt Ryan’s long-term backup. The former East Carolina star finished the preseason 33-of-56 (58.9 percent) for 402 yards (7.2 YPA) and a 3:3 TD-to-INT ratio. His stats would have looked even better if not for an inordinate number of late-game drops by his receivers.

With an impressive August, Davis forced the Falcons to keep three QBs, but he remains behind savvy veteran Luke McCown on the depth chart. Atlanta’s new up-tempo offense is healthy and poised to explode versus an injury-ravaged Chiefs defense in the opener.

During last year’s preseason, Davis stirred up some buzz by going 33-of-56 for 402 yards with three touchdowns against three interceptions. This offseason, the Falcons let Luke McCown go and only added seventh-rounder Sean Renfree and undrafted free agent Seth Doege. Matt Ryan has only missed two games in his five-year career, but they’re putting a lot of faith in Davis right now.

Davis was injured filling in for Matt Ryan in last week’s blowout loss to the Bucs. He’s only dealing with a knee bruise and won’t miss any time. The Falcons worked out free agents Trent Edwards and Mike Kafka on Tuesday, but neither is expected to be signed.

Matt Ryan’s backup last season, the 2012 undrafted free agent attempted seven passes in mop-up duty. Davis was made expendable following the Falcons’ acquisition of T.J. Yates. He should latch on elsewhere as a camp arm.