Tyler Allgeier Still 'Very Important' to Falcons Offense After Drafting Bijan Robinson
There may not have been a bigger loser from the Atlanta Falcons' draft weekend than second-year running back Tyler Allgeier.
As a fifth-round pick in 2022, Allgeier burst onto the scene this past season and broke the Falcons' rookie record for rushing yards in a season. For his accomplishments, he was rewarded with a teammate who will likely take some carries from him in first-rounder Bijan Robinson.
Despite taking Robinson with the No. 8 overall pick, head coach Arthur Smith stressed the importance Allgeier has in the offense.
“Tyler is a very important part of this offense,” Smith said via Josh Kendall of The Athletic. “They are different players. You can look at the advanced metrics and say (Allgeier and Robinson) are both yards-after-contact players, but how they do that is completely different. Tyler is like a sledgehammer as the game goes on, bludgeoning through there and wearing you down, where with Bijan it’s contact balance, the way he doesn’t go down, the way he is able to get explosives off that. It’s different the way people will have to tackle them. Whoever is up on game day, they will have unique roles.”
Even though Allgeier may have lost his potential to be a bellcow back for the Falcons, he and Robinson have the potential to be one of the league's greatest running back duos if everything goes according to plan. In today's NFL, offenses have become far more reliant on the pass than the run, but the Falcons are looking to change that.
The longevity of running backs has decreased over time, but by having two young backs both capable of having breakout seasons, it allows the Falcons to build a true identity as a traditional, hard-nosed, physical run-first offense.
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