Falcons' Tyler Allgeier Part of Plans vs. Panthers?

Tyler Allgeier may not be Bijan Robinson or "joker" Cordarrelle Patterson, but he could be a big piece to the Atlanta Falcons backfield against the Carolina Panthers.

The Atlanta Falcons are expected to debut rookie running back Bijan Robinson and "joker" Cordarrelle Patterson in Sunday's season opener against the Carolina Panthers.

However, that leaves one rusher without much of the spotlight.

Tyler Allgeier ran for over 1,000 yards in his rookie year in 2022 after being drafted in the fifth round out of BYU. However, he's gone somewhat overlooked since the Falcons drafted Bijan and elevated Patterson to the starting lineup as the "joker."

However, that doesn't mean Allgeier won't carve out a role for the Falcons.

“I think for a lot of young [running] backs, the transition is harder sometimes as some of the looks and speed of the blitz pickups and the protections, whether that’s first, second down, drop back, or some of your play action protections, or certainly third down," coach Arthur Smith said. "I think for all these young [running] backs, there’s always growth there. It helps certainly going into year two, having a season under your belt. I’ve seen a lot of progress from him.”

There's a lot of mouths to feed in the Falcons offense, and while Allgeier may not be the first one fed, he is expected to eat at some point.

However, there's a chance that Allgeier could factor more in the pass game this year.

"You think we’re going to ask Tyler Allgeier to be Darren Sproles? No, but he can still be really effective on the pass game," Smith said. "Just like we wouldn’t ask one of those smaller [running] backs that was more of a receiver, we wouldn’t ask him to be Tyler."

Allgeier caught 16 passes for 139 yards and a touchdown last season, so there is room for improvement in that department.

While his spot in the depth chart may be in question, the Falcons are seeing growth from the second-year running back.

"He's done a great job of just becoming a leader within himself and a leader within his room," Ridder said. "Just looking at Tyler from the outside he's become a leader that he wasn't last year. Last year he was kind of the quiet guy, just hand me the ball and watch me talk, and that's kind of where he did his talking, is on the field. It's exciting to see guys step into different roles and kind of go out of their comfort zone."

Regardless of how much of a role he plays, Falcons' opponents all year long would be foolish to forget about Allgeier.

Allgeier and the Falcons host the Panthers on Sunday at 1 p.m. inside Mercedes-Benz Stadium.