FLOWERY BRANCH, Ga. -- Atlanta Falcons coach Dan Quinn said he expects to feature reigning sack champ Vic Beasley Jr. more in a pass-rush role down the stretch after asking Beasley to take on more responsibilities as the strongside linebacker because of injuries.

Beasley, who led the league with 15.5 sacks last season, has four sacks through 11 games and hasn't had a sack in the past five contests. He missed three games with a hamstring strain.

Once Beasley recovered from his own injury, he found himself dropping into coverage more often and having to set the edge against the run because of a shuffle at linebacker. Rookie weakside linebacker Duke Riley missed four games after knee surgery, shifting De'Vondre Campbell from strongside to weakside linebacker and forcing Beasley to the strongside role he embraced, although it took away from some of his pass-rushing at defensive end.

Vic Beasley, who led the league with 15.5 sacks last season, has four sacks through 11 games in 2017. Scott Cunningham/Getty Images

"We're going to feature Vic, as best we can, as an edge rusher," Quinn said Wednesday. "That's really the best role that he has. So we're going to try and keep that as big a part of his package moving forward."

Quinn noted how over the past five or six weeks, Beasley's rush percentage has been down significantly from last Beasley. Beasley did have a season-high five solo tackles in a loss to Minnesota, but the Falcons certainly would have preferred a sack or quarterback hit on Case Keenum, and he had neither.

Beasley, who maintained his nickel end role through the transition to more strongside linebacker, is known for his speed off the edge, and opposing teams game plan to slow him down with extra blockers. Beasley said he's worked hard to develop counter moves to offset opponents and give them something else to think about.

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Asked about Beasley's progress with those counter moves, Quinn said, "I guess we'll find out."

Quinn wasn't overly critical of Beasley's play but did give an honest assessment of Beasley's performance at defensive end.

"I'd say for us and for him, there's another spot to go to," Quinn said. "And we intend on doing that with more emphasis [with] him as a rusher."

Quinn said his interaction with Beasley hasn't been about motivating him to be more productive.

"I think the biggest interaction is that he's played way more linebacker where he's dropping," Quinn said. "That's what we needed him to do at the time. It was really a coaching decision on my end to put in there. because he doesn't play that a lot.

"And now that we have some people healthy back, we're trying to feature him in the roles that he does best."

Quinn nudged Beasley a few weeks ago, saying he wanted to see more forced fumbles after Beasley tied for the league lead in that category last season. Getting after Jameis Winston, Drew Brees, and Cam Newton will be crucial for the 8-5 Falcons over the final three games as they try to secure a playoff spot.

Adrian Clayborn leads the Falcons with nine sacks followed by rookie Takkarist McKinley with five. The Falcons rank 12th in the NFL in sacks per pass attempt with a 7.46 percent rate. The Jacksonville Jaguars lead the league at 11.01 percent.