Embarrassed by his team’s play in the secondary last weekend in a preseason win over the Chargers, Falcons’ GM Thomas Dimitroff acquired former first round pick Tye Hill from the Rams in exchange for a 2010 seventh round pick.
From the Atlanta Journal-Constitution:
Hill, a former first round pick by the Rams in 2006, has started 21 of 28 games. He will be expected to compete for one of the starting positions.
Hill entered last season as the starting left cornerback for the Rams. The spot has been problematic for the Falcons since they decided to trade DeAngelo Hall over the 2007 offseason.
Anyone who watched San Diego’s Philip Rivers and Vincent Jackson shred the Falcons last Saturday knows that Atlanta needed to do something to address its secondary issues. While Hill has major injury concerns, he played well in his rookie season in 2006 and has solid coverage skills.
While he isn’t the biggest cornerback, Hill has great speed and maybe a change of scenery will serve him well. He’ll challenge Chris Houston and Brent Grimes immediately and could wind up starting at some point during the first month of the season, if not the Falcons’ opener.
