Former Penn State defensive lineman Derrick Tangelo, who went undrafted in this weekend’s NFL Draft has signed on with the Atlanta Falcons as a priority free agent.
Tangelo is a 6-2, 308-pound defensive tackle that was a consensus three-star recruit in the Class of 2017 out of The Bullis School in Gaithersburg, MD who played in 45 career games, including 27 starts for the Duke Blue Devils.
During his time at Duke, he recorded 114 career tackles, 12 tackles for loss, five forced fumbles, two fumble recoveries, and a pass breakup. His best season came in 2020 when he recorded 40 tackles, four tackles for loss, two sacks, and a forced fumble.
He transferred to Penn State as a graduate transfer to start 12 games and record 29 tackles, 5.5 for loss, two sacks, one forced fumble, and two fumble recoveries. His play helped offset the losses of P.J. Mustipher and Adisa Isaac on the defensive line.
Tangelo will be reunited with Arnold Ebiketie to try to improve a Falcons defense that was ranked 26th in total yards, 29th in points allowed and 27th against the run.
Twitter: @bwalkerdadon
