FLOWERY BRACH, Ga. -- Atlanta Falcons first-round draft pick Takkarist McKinley doesn't bite his tongue, so the defensive end from UCLA was brutally honest when asked what he knew about his new defense.

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"I do know they had the Patriots up, 28-3, and they kind of just ran out of gas," McKinley said, referring to the Falcons' collapse in a 34-28 Super Bowl LI loss to New England.

Maybe that wasn't exactly one of the first things Falcons fans wanted to hear McKinley utter, but at least he's fully aware of the biggest storyline going into the 2017 season: How the Falcons will respond from their Super Bowl hangover.

A player as talented as McKinley should help the cause, especially when teamed with reigning NFL sacks leader Vic Beasley Jr.

"For a D-lineman, it's hard to rush every single play," McKinley said. "So if I can just go out there (on) third downs, second down, or whatever just to give them guys a break and continue to pass rush, who knows how far we'll go."

When the 6-foot-2-inch, 250-pound McKinley said "them guys," he was referring to Beasley and Dwight Freeney. The veteran Freeney isn't expected back, which puts that much more emphasis on McKinley's role coming in as a rookie.

First and foremost, the Falcons have to make sure McKinley is healthy after surgery in March to repair a significant right shoulder injury originally expected to sideline McKinley, possibly until September. General manager Thomas Dimitroff said he was comfortable with the medical reports associated with McKinley's shoulder. And coach Dan Quinn expressed optimism about the timetable for McKinley's recovery.

"Training camp, that's my hope," Quinn said. "If not, it will be soon after that."

Quinn is confident it won't linger into the season. And he's confident McKinley will have an impact as another edge rusher on a line that now features Beasley, nose tackle Grady Jarrett, defensive tackle Dontari Poe, Adrian Clayborn, Derrick Shelby, Ra'Shede Hageman, and newcomer Jack Crawford.

"This guy is a dog competitor," Quinn said of McKinley.

Quinn expanded on what exactly he sees in McKinley's pass-rush skills.

"The first (trait) was his initial get-off where he can really beat a guy to the punch," Quinn said. "It was that kind of speed that he can get out of his stance and go. We saw him play, at UCLA, linebacker, where he was in a two-point stance, and some where he was down and really going. We saw him play on both sides, that kind of flexibility. I'm anxious to work with him. We feel like we can help develop and train him and get him even stronger. ... But he does have the initial traits that we're looking for."

McKinley was asked to describe his playing style. Again, he didn't bite his tongue.

"I'm relentless," he said. "I've got heart. I've got the best motor in this class. A lot of guys don't run to the ball. They just jog to the ball. Or a lot of guys don't jog to the ball. For me, if a quarterback is scrambling, I want to be right there in his face scrambling with him to force a bad throw. ... I'm somebody that's going to go hard no matter what."