Jonathan

Massaquoi

After posting 13.5 sacks as a sophomore, Massaquoi’s junior season was a bit of a let down with only six sacks and 10.5 tackles for loss. A long pass rusher with 34-inch arms, Massaquoi is at his best when getting underneath the offensive lineman’s shoulder pads and leveraging to release into the backfield. However, he lacks strength with that length and change of direction quickness to work around blocks. Massaquoi is a smaller version of Patriots first-round pick Chandler Jones.

Massaquoi has dropped 15 pounds since the Combine in an effort to get back to his junior year playing weight, when he posted a career best 13.5 sacks. “We felt looking at him, he looked to be heavier as a senior,” coach Mike Smith said. “He played a little lighter as a junior when he had more production. His weight is down and he looks a lot leaner than he did in the season.”

Massaquoi is latest in an impressive line of rushers out of Troy, following in Osi Umenyiora, DeMarcus Ware, and Cameron Sheffield’s footsteps. A dominant edge rusher as a sophomore, Massaquoi’s production slacked as a junior before he declared for the draft. Behind RE John Abraham and LE Ray Edwards, Massaquoi will vie with Kroy Biermann and Lawrence Sidbury for snaps.

Per Falcons.com, Massaquoi’s burst was “evident” in special teams periods. The Falcons believe Massaquoi slumped from 13.5 sacks as a sophomore in 2010 to six as a junior in 2011 because he added 15 pounds that offseason. He reported to the Falcons at 260 -- Massaquoi’s 2010 weight -- and his explosion appears to have returned. He’s a sleeper to emerge as a starter down the road.

Massaquoi had a minor clean-up procedure in the offseason. He should miss the majority of OTAs, but is expected to be full-go for the start of training camp. Claimed off waivers in March, Massaquoi will compete for a reserve pass-rusher role behind Brian Orakpo and Derrick Morgan.

Massaquoi played over 50 percent of the snaps last season after playing just 41 snaps total as a rookie. He started four games and finished third on the team with four sacks. Massaquoi has good burst and is expected to play more as a stand-up outside linebacker with the Falcons transitioning to a 3-4 scheme. He’ll compete for snaps with Osi Umenyiora, Kroy Biermann, and others.

Massaquoi was claimed off waivers from the Falcons back in March. It’s a bad sign that he wasn’t able to make it with the Titans seriously searching for depth.

A 2012 fifth-rounder, Massaquoi notched six sacks across 31 games the past two seasons. He’ll try to make the Titans as a situational pass rusher.

Massaquoi was out of the league last season after being released by the Titans at final cuts. The 2012 fifth-round pick will struggle to crack the 53-man roster out of camp.

At first glance, Biermann’s usage might seem the product of a blowout, but he saw snaps on every series with the exception of Tampa’s final possession. While Biermann did see some subpackage snaps, Atlanta rotated Jonathan Massaquoi and Osi Umenyiora in obvious passing situations. This would make sense, as Biermann currently grades out as the No. 45 pass rushing 3-4 outside linebacker among 48 qualifiers at Pro Football Focus.