There were reports Thursday that safety Kemal Ishmael had signed his rookie deal with the Falcons and the team confirmed them by announcing Ishmael’s signing on Friday.
They added three more signings to the pot for good measure. The Falcons announced that fourth-round defensive end Malliciah Goodman, fifth-round defensive end Stansly Maponga and seventh-round safety Zeke Motta have all agreed to contracts as well.
Goodman had 12 sacks during his career at Clemson and projects to be a versatile enough player to line up inside on passing downs to help pressure opposing quarterbacks. He’ll compete with Kroy Biermann across from Osi Umenyiora.
Maponga is the latest in a line of late-round attempts to find pass rushing help by the Falcons. He had nine sacks in 2011 at TCU, but a foot injury helped him slump to just four in 2012. Even with Umenyiora around as John Abraham’s replacement up front, the team could use a little more bite in the pass rush so Maponga could work his way into the mix on passing downs with a strong camp.
Like many seventh-rounders, special teams is likely to be Motta’s ticket to the final roster. The same’s true of Ishmael, which may mean the two of them are fighting for one spot.