Russell Gage

The ultra-athletic Gage got an audition at receiver in 2018 after Atlanta's playoffs hopes disintegrated with a 4-9 start. His workload remained relatively minimal, but Gage proved to be somewhat efficient, hauling in six of 10 targets. What was surprising was his inability to produce explosive gains with those touches, as he accumulated 10.5 yards per catch, a stark drop-off from his 13.6 YPC average during his senior year at LSU. In a best-case scenario, Gage will fully overtake Justin Hardy for the No. 4 receiver job, while continuing to play a key role on special teams. Gage fielded 63.6 percent of the special teams snaps last year for the Falcons, recording seven tackles while serving as one of the primary gunners on punts.

The rookie out of LSU has been featured all over the field since the Falcons selected him in the sixth round of April's draft. He started off taking snaps at cornerback during rookie minicamp in May and then transitioned over to wide receiver during minicamp and training camp, while also seeing reps on special teams coverage. Gage is highly unlikely to break the top four on the depth chart at either receiver or cornerback, leaving him with the opportunity to pursue playing time as a member of the Falcons special teams coverage unit. Though he possesses a slight frame of 6-foot, 180 pounds, Gage boasts blazing speed as exemplified by his 40-yard dash time of 4.42 seconds at LSU's pro day. He has a long way to go in terms of polishing his skill set to become an offensive or defensive starter, but Gage's track team-caliber speed could lead to him locking down a gunner position on punt coverage.