DeMarcco Hellams grew into his role at safety, should do so more in second year — Rookie Review

Hellams was involved in the Falcons’ special teams since Week 1 but didn’t receive a defensive snap until Week 4. His debut on defense consisted of 12 snaps (18%) with one tackle. Those numbers only increased as the season went on, reaching 69 defensive snaps (96%) in Week 16 for seven tackles. He sustained a concussion in Week 17 that forced him to miss the Week 18 finale.

In total, Hellams appeared in 15 games overall, starting four. He notched 40 tackles, 25 of which were solo. There was one quarterback hit and one tackle for loss, too.

Hellams was only inactive in Weeks 9 and 18. He missed the Falcons’ loss to the Minnesota Vikings due to a hamstring injury and the Falcons’ loss to the New Orleans Saints with the aforementioned concussion.

“I thought DeMarcco did a fantastic job when he got his opportunity to go out there,” Gray said. “He played in space, made some tackles in space. Actually, he’s physical in the run game, which we like.”

Hellams made the most of his opportunities, even if there weren’t as many as he maybe preferred at the start. It took a minute for him to earn a shot on the defensive side of the ball. But when he did, he did not disappoint.

The reason Hellams was able to slide into the secondary without issue is because he practiced and prepared well. He showed on a consistent basis that he would be ready whenever his number was called and, in the meantime, he continued to work to be better. Hellams trusted the process, which shouldn’t be a surprise considering he went to Alabama and that mantra was preached by now-retired head coach Nick Saban.

That dedication paid off. So much so that Hellams received the starting nod, replacing Richie Grant in two games. In Hellams’ two other starts, both Hellams and Grant were on the field with Jessie Bates III, who started every game. Of the five safeties who played, only these three were starters at some point. Hellams was the sole rookie.

“His thing was being a rookie coming into a situation, learning the defense,” Nielsen said. “He learned the defense and then just stayed patient, but pushed himself to learn everything even though he’s a good mental-rep guy. He’s watching, he’s learning, and then all of a sudden – very similar – he got his opportunity and went out and made a play.”

Hellams needs to pick up where he left off in…