The Atlanta Falcons will enter Monday night’s game without cornerback A.J. Terrell (groin), leaving their secondary shorthanded for its most difficult assignment of the season: slowing New Orleans Saints wide receiver Chris Olave. Terrell went on injured reserve after suffering the injury in Week 2, sidelining the Falcons’ top boundary defender for at least four games.
Locked On Falcons host Aaron Freeman and Locked On Falcons co-host Jarvis Davis identified Olave as the matchup that can dictate whether Atlanta controls the game in New Orleans. Davis said the Saints are likely to keep looking for their top receiver, making it unrealistic for one replacement corner to handle the assignment alone.
This brings the personnel choices into immediate focus. Cornerbacks C.J. Henderson and Mike Hughes are the veterans positioned to absorb more work after Terrell’s injury, while rookie Avieon Terrell offers another outside option. Freeman noted that Avieon Terrell rotated into the defense last week but has not yet been used outside alongside Billy Bowman Jr. in the slot.
Davis argued that the Falcons cannot simply shadow Olave with a single defender. He expects Jeff Ulbrich’s defense to vary its coverages, pressure looks, and pre-snap presentation in an effort to keep quarterback Tyler Shough from getting comfortable with an early, predictable read.
Freeman made the same case from a game-plan perspective: Atlanta can make the Saints’ pass-first approach less efficient by funneling attention toward Olave and forcing the offense to find answers elsewhere. The Falcons do not need to erase Olave entirely, but they cannot let him turn A.J. Terrell’s absence into an easy series of favorable matchups for the Saints.
The episode also framed Monday as another measuring stick for Ulbrich, whose early work with the defense has prompted discussion about possible future head-coaching opportunities. Freeman and Davis both considered that conversation premature, arguing that the Falcons’ defense would need to remain among the best in the league and ignite a playoff push before Atlanta has a meaningful reason to worry about losing its defensive coordinator.
Atlanta’s immediate task is more concrete: identify which combination of Henderson, Hughes, and Avieon Terrell can withstand Olave’s movement across the formation. If that group can make Shough hold the ball and spread targets elsewhere, the Falcons will give themselves a path to leaving New Orleans with a division win.
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