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The Atlanta Falcons are looking to seriously improve their backfield this year and have added even more competition for the offseason.
On Thursday, May 26, the team announced the signing of former Tennessee Titans running back Jeremy McNichols.
On the same day, the team moved cornerback Avery Williams from cornerback to the backfield.
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Competition at RB Runs Deep in Atlanta
McNichols, 26, was the Tampa Bay Buccaneers‘ fifth-round pick (162nd overall) out of Boise State in the 2017 draft. The Bucs released him before the start of the 2017 season.
He has spent the last four years bouncing between practice squads, with stops at the San Francisco 49ers, Denver Broncos, the Titans, Chicago Bears and the Jacksonville Jaguars.
More recently, he spent the last two seasons in Tennessee (his second stint with the Titans) where he and head coach Arthur Smith crossed paths. While Smith was Tennessee’s offensive coordinator in 2020, McNichols had 47 carries for 204 yards and a touchdown. He also snagged 12 catches for 55 yards.
In 2021, McNichols rushed for 156 yards on 40 carries while also catching 28 passes for 240 yards and a score.
Competition now runs fairly deep in the backfield, which consists of dual-threat veteran Cordarrelle Patterson, recent signee Damien Williams, 30-year-old fullback Keith Smith and rookie Tyler Allgeier (fifth-round pick), as well as Qadree Ollison, Caleb Huntley and Avery Williams.
Falcons’ Second-Year CB Makes a Position Change
McNichols isn’t the only Boise State alum on the Falcons’ squad.
The Falcons drafted Broncos product Avery Williams in the fifth round of last year’s draft.
The 5-foot-9, 195-pound walk-on played in 48 games over the course of four seasons at Boise State. During that time, he logged 152 total tackles (111 solo), along with four interceptions, 26 passes defensed, five forced fumbles and a fumble recovery. He spent most of his time at cornerback but he was also used at nickel back and safety.
But where he really made a name for himself was on special teams. Williams had nine career returns for touchdowns, tying the NCAA record. He also had five blocked kicks, which was a combination of blocked punts and field goals. He posted 82 punt returns for 948 yards and six touchdowns (11.6-yd average) and 38 kickoff returns for 1,042 yards and three touchdowns (27.4-yd average).
Williams didn’t see the field much at cornerback during his rookie NFL season where he recorded 11 tackles, a forced fumble and a pass defensed. However, he contributed significantly on special teams, logging 643 return yards through 15 games. He averaged 21.3 yards per kick return and 7.6 yards per punt return.
With a move to running back, he might get more chances to see the field and make a bigger impact in his second year.
“What I want to show is I can do anything,” Williams told reporters last offseason. “Not only can I, but I am more than willing to do anything, so whatever is going to help the Atlanta Falcons be the best team, that’s where they’ll put me and that’s where I’ll be.”
Playing running back isn’t anything new to Williams because he played the position in high school.
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