Tony

Taylor

Atlanta tried to pass off Taylor as legit competition for Curtis Lofton in last year’s training camp, but that was a motivational tactic. The rest of the NFL showed how valued Taylor is by letting him sit on the waiver wire all year.

Seattle thinks undrafted free agent Shane Simmons has more potential, which isn’t a good sign for Taylor. He’d been working behind Lofa Tatupu.

Lofton, Atlanta’s second-round pick, is far more physically gifted but Taylor won’t go down easily. The winner here could have LB2 or even LB1 value.

Lofton excelled at shedding blocks and led Atlanta with six solo stops. He’s unofficially overtaken Tony Taylor and is on track to start the opener.

Lofton has worked primarily with the second-team defense during camp and hasn’t formally earned the starting job over Tony Taylor. We expect Lofton to surpass Taylor early in the season, but Lofton apparently isn’t going to be on the field, initially, to make big plays in coverage.

The coaching staff talked up Taylor as a potential Week 1 starting MIKE, but this locks in Curtis Lofton there. Rader was third on the depth chart.

Rookie Curtis Lofton, who is becoming a huge IDP sleeper, split time with second-year pro Tony Taylor in the middle. Brooking is a better player on the weak side, so this helps the whole defense.