The Atlanta Falcons won a football game on Friday night, beating the Detroit Lions 27-23 in their preseason opener.
Viewers were able to catch a glimpse of the Falcons’ 2022 rookie draft and looking at social media, they overall seemed to have liked what they saw, especially from fifth-round pick running back, Tyler Allgeier.
The BYU product finished the night rushing for 25 yards on three carries. On one run he ran for 15 yards.
a couple of #25 Tyler Allgeier runs from last night.
First clip he does a great job running through a DL arm tackle through the hole.
But I especially love the second run on Duo. Starts to bounce the run but has enough quickness and burst to trim the fat and get north.
He also chipped in with some blocking, which ultimately resulted in Desmond Ridder throwing a game-winning touchdown pass to wide receiver Jared Bernhardt.
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Allieger Could Be On Tap to Replace Cordarelle Patterson
Falcons head coach Arthur Smith isn’t one to just hand out compliments to players. He was clearly happy with Allgeier’s performance but brushed it off as more of an expectation.
“Tyler’s a tough kid. …Absolutely, that’s why we drafted him,” Smith said in the post-game presser. “That’s the stuff we value. You don’t just magically happen on gameday and that’s the way we train. If you come out to one of our practices, you’ll see how these guys compete in practice. It’s good to see it show up. We know we have a lot of work. It’s a preseason game. But I like this team. I’m thankful every day I get to coach this team.”
Allgeier currently sits last on the Falcons’ running back depth chart, but Smith is known to do that to rookies to give them a little push to keep working hard.
There’s a possibility if he keeps it up that he could find his way into the top running back job as the Falcons shift into using running back/wide receiver Cordarrelle Patterson as more of a wild card piece.
Allgeier Brings Versatility to Atlanta
Allgeier joins the Falcons following back-to-back seasons where he notched over 1,000 rushing yards. He currently owns the fifth-most rushing yards and second-most career touchdowns in BYU history.
His best season yet came last fall when he logged a single-season record of 1,601 yards, 1,606 yards and 23 touchdowns on 5.8 yards per carry, while adding 28 catches for 199 receiving yards as a junior in 2021.
Similar to the Falcons’ third-round pick, linebacker/running back Troy Andersen, Allgeier brings versatility to Atlanta on both sides of the ball and is also a tough blocker having played linebacker during the 2019 season.
Andersen’s focus is now at linebacker while Allegeier’s remains at running back but having versatility is a huge upside for both parties as the Falcons favor those kinds of players on their 53-man roster.
“The Falcons are getting a fantastic football player and an incredibly humble and hardworking teammate with the physical versatility and football IQ to contribute in many different ways,” BYU coach Kalani Sitake said via KSL.com. “He is the kind of person who will always succeed and improve. I am excited for Tyler. I look forward to following his NFL career.”
Also per KSL, Allgeier became the fifth-highest drafted running back in Cougar football history and the 18th ball carrier to be drafted out of the program.
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Falcons’ Rookie RB Shows Off Versatility in NFL Debut