FLOWERY BRANCH, Ga. -- Kendal Daniels sits next to Jack Strand in rookie meetings. Sometimes he looks over at Strand's playbook and his eyes widen.
The Atlanta Falcons drafted Daniels, a linebacker out of Oklahoma, in the fourth round in April. A few hours later, the team put pen to paper on an undrafted rookie contract with Strand, a quarterback from Division II Minnesota State-Moorhead.
The two have had vastly different experiences. Daniels missed much of the spring with a calf injury and is now working his way back with the reserves. That doesn't sound atypical for a third-day pick.
But Strand? Well, he's QB1.
That is not a misprint. After five days of training camp, the 6-foot-5 240-pounder from Bloomer, Wisconsin, took almost all of the quarterback reps with the Falcons' first-team offense.
"Man, as a linebacker, I could feel the stress of having to go out there with the [first-team] group, but as the quarterback, having to go out there and we just [re-signed] the best tight end in the league (Kyle Pitts) and then one of the best wide receivers in the league (Drake London)," Daniels said. ... "I couldn't imagine being in his spot right now. I really couldn't."
It won't last forever. Quarterbacks Tua Tagovailoa (tight back) and Michael Penix Jr. (right knee) are working their way back from injuries. Veteran Cooper Rush, whom the Falcons signed last week after releasing third-stringer Trevor Siemian, is starting to get some first-team reps as well. Rush has won nine games as an NFL starter.
Yet, for a moment in time, Strand is The Man under center for the Falcons. And he's done pretty well for himself given the circumstances.
Over the first four practices, Strand is 21-of-31 passing in 11-on-11 team sessions. Pitts said he has been slowly taking charge in the huddle, adding some bass into his voice in recent days. London described him as a "tank," because of his statuesque physique. In any case, he has performed far better -- and gotten way more opportunities -- than anyone expected.
"My expectations were just whatever role that I was given on the team, whether that was going to be taking a few reps in practice or I was going to be taking the majority of reps in practice," Strand said. "Wherever that fell, my mentality was not going to change. It was just going to be keep attacking, keep getting better every day."
Outside of his size and considerable arm strength -- he "can sling it," Tagovailoa said -- Strand's intellect was something appealing to the Falcons' coaching staff heading into the draft. Head coach Kevin Stefanski said that has manifested itself in camp.
"It's not perfect as you would not expect any rookie to be perfect, but I think Jack continues to impress with his ability to command the offense, the ability to get in and out of the huddle, get us in and out of run plays to pass plays," Stefanski said. "He's a very, very bright young man."
Strand, 22, was spectacular at Minnesota State-Moorhead. He was a Division II All-American last season and finished his college career ranked in the top 10 all-time at the Division II level in passing yards (13,161), attempts and completions.
But it was Division II after all. Strand had pro-level traits, however the lack of competition at that level is likely why every team passed on him in the draft.
"I think football is football ultimately, but those [passing] windows get really small in the NFL," Stefanski said. "And guys are typically not wide open when you're throwing to them. So, I think that's just the natural college-to-pro type of thing."
At some point during this training camp, Tagovailoa and Penix will be healthy and Rush will start to get a more detailed grasp of offensive coordinator Tommy Rees' system. Until then, though, Strand's friends and family -- and Strand himself -- are relishing this chance.
Strand said his brother is going to be a freshman in high school this fall and his friends are trying to get Strand's number so they can send him texts. Some have succeeded. Strand's phone has been pretty active over the past week.
"I know some of them," Strand said of the kids texting him. "Some of them go to my church and stuff and just from going to [my brother's] games and stuff. But no, it's so cool to have that platform be able to see what it means to these kids and the people from back home."
They seem to be very impressed. So is Daniels. He has been borderline in awe of how Strand has adjusted to essentially running an NFL first-team offense with All-Pro-level players all around him.
"He's handling it a lot better than I would playing quarterback," Daniels said.
London has given his stamp of approval.
"That dude is a tank, bro," London said. "He's huge, man. He's a big person, but he's a quiet guy. He's about his business and it's dope to just see him out there, try to grasp everything and then just play ball at the end of the day. And he's doing a great job."
