He didn’t print it out to hang in his locker or anything like that, but Kelvin Benjamin remembers.
Back in June, Atlanta cornerback Desmond Trufant shared his strategy for his upcoming matchups with the Panthers' top wideout.
“I’ve got to use my speed, my quickness and beat him to the spot,” Trufant told ESPN’s Falcons reporter Vaughn McClure. “Usually with bigger guys, I can get to the spot faster than them.”
So Benjamin, who brought up the article to reporters on Thursday, had no reason to hide his game plan for this weekend:
“I'm focused on beating him to the spot.”
The two have met twice before, in Benjamin’s rookie season. The Panthers threw just 16 times in 2014's de facto NFC South title game, so Benjamin’s one-catch performance is tough to judge. But in their first meeting, Benjamin racked up 109 yards and 9 receptions, including a juggling touchdown grab over Trufant.
“I think I just out-physicaled him,” Benjamin recalled. “He can't really match up physically; I'm just bigger than him.”
Because Benjamin has 5 inches and 55 pounds on the 6-foot, 190-pound Trufant, Atlanta's top corner obviously has to find other ways to win.
“They're not physical guys. They’re technician guys,” Benjamin said when asked about the Falcons’ secondary. “They’ll try to play us off, not really jam, try to shadow us.
"Trufant will try to guess a lot, try to jump routes.”
To be fair, Trufant’s done well for himself, averaging two interceptions and nearly 15 pass breakups in his first three full seasons. He made the Pro Bowl last year, and so far this season, the Falcons have asked him to shadow Saints receiver Brandin Cooks and Oakland’s top wideout, Amari Cooper.
“He is one of the elite guys in this league. I don't think people give him enough credit for how good a football player he is,” Panthers coach Ron Rivera said of Trufant. “I could see him on Kelvin. I could see him on (Devin Funchess) as well.”
Benjamin sees it differently:
“I definitely expect him to be on me all game.”
And with quarterback Cam Newton vowing never again to help make his No. 1 wideout disappear like he did against the Vikings, the Benjamin-Trufant battle has 'get your popcorn ready' potential.
“I think that shows you're really trying to be a lockdown cornerback,” Benjamin said, “not play the right side and then say you locked somebody down and you're only playing one side of the field.”
But is Trufant a lockdown corner?
“We'll see, right? We'll see.”
Yup. See ya Sunday.
