Billy Bowman News: Earns starting role

Falcons coach Raheem Morris said Thursday that Bowman will open the regular season as the team's starting nickel cornerback, Terrin Waack of the Falcons' official site reports.

Bowman has shown enough this offseason to kick off his NFL career as Atlanta's top slot cornerback, beating out Dee Alford. That's an impressive feat for the rookie fourth-round pick, who played safety at Oklahoma. Bowman's first opportunity to prove that his ball-hawking ability will translate to the NFL regular season will come Week 1 at home versus the Buccaneers.