What It Means:

The No. 8 overall pick last year, Beasley played defensive end as a rookie. It is a puzzling move for the Falcons, who will likely employ Beasley in a similar role to the one coach Dan Quinn used Bruce Irvin in Seattle. That means Beasley will still be asked to rush the passer on most of his snaps, but he will also spend more time dropping into coverage. For a team desperate for a pass rush, taking your best rusher out of the equation for even 100 snaps does not seem like a sound plan, but the Falcons are as weak at linebacker as they are at defensive end. With Beasley on the strong side, newly-signed linebacker Courtney Upshaw could compete for the middle linebacker job.

Atlanta ranked 21st in Adjusted Defensive Net Expected Points (NEP) per play last season.