How Falcons Signed 'Best Blocking TE,' Added 'Emotional Push' to Run Game

The Atlanta Falcons' holdover front office and newly arrived coaching staff quickly aligned during tight end Charlie Woerner's free agency process.

Atlanta Falcons tight end Charlie Woerner has emerged as an integral part of the team's rushing attack. / Bob Donnan-Imagn Images

Tight end Charlie Woerner motioned from left to right, reaching his spot at the end of the Atlanta Falcons' line of scrimmage as quarterback Kirk Cousins called for the snap.

Running back Tyler Allgeier took the handoff and ran toward Woerner, who sealed Carolina Panthers outside linebacker DJ Johnson's rushing angle and created a gaping hole for Allgeier around the right end.

Allgeier gained six yards before the first Panthers' defender made contact with him.

But Allgeier wasn't done. Neither was Woerner.

After Allgeier shook off one would-be tackler, Woerner entered the mob, vaulting Allgeier forward before attaching to another Carolina defender. By the time Allgeier went down, he was 18 yards downfield.

Atlanta's running game dominated Carolina in Week 6, totaling 198 yards and three touchdowns while averaging 5.3 yards per carry -- a performance with Woerner's white gloves all over it.

"What he did last week, it was something special," said Falcons running back Bijan Robinson, who rushed for 95 yards and a pair of touchdowns. "He was doing everything you’d expect a great tight end to do. With Charlie on the offense and his extension of the O-line, that dude’s a monster."

After the game, Woerner received a game ball. The box score showed no receptions or even a target for the 27-year-old. And still, his impact was undeniable.

Yet for Woerner, the Falcons' 18-point win was all that mattered.

"For eight, nine years now, I've never really been a big stat guy on the stat board," Woerner said. "So, I've just slowly transitioned to, I just want to win games, make the playoffs and win the biggest games of the year -- making the Super Bowl, NFC Championship, whatever it is."

Woerner, a sixth-round pick by the San Francisco 49ers in 2020, has played in 71 NFL games. He has just 17 targets, which he's turned into 12 catches for 124 yards. He's still awaiting his first professional touchdown.

But Woerner has earned a strong reputation across the NFL as an elite blocker. It's why the Falcons gave him a three-year, $12 million contract in the spring.

And it's one Robinson was already well aware of when Woerner arrived for the team's first meeting in April.

"I’ve seen him play at San Francisco, and I was like, 'He’s a dog,'" Robinson said. "When we got him here, we immediately talked, and he was like, ‘B, I’m going to set this run game up for you.’ And I was like, 'Man, I’m just excited you’re here.'"

Robinson already had an opinion formed of Woerner before the two took the field together. So did Cousins -- but for different reasons.

After the Falcons signed Woerner, Cousins received a text from an unnamed, since-retired 49er who worked with Woerner in San Francisco.

"He said, 'You're going to love Charlie. He's in year five. You'll think he's in year 12,'" Cousins said. "He's right."

Cousins dubbed Woerner as a cerebral, high-motor player whom he's loved since the day they met and worked together throughout OTAs.

The 36-year-old Cousins hasn't targeted Woerner since the season opener Sept. 8 -- but such a stat has no bearing on Woerner's value to Atlanta's offense. Woerner, Cousins said, checks plenty of intangible boxes unseen on a stat sheet.

"With the way he talks, the way he carries himself, the way he works, the way he handles his business -- really glad we were able to sign him," Cousins said. "There's a little bit of, 'Okay, how do we best build the 2024 Falcons and get a piece like that?'

"Because I think he's a piece that can really help us win.”

Falcons pro scout Sal Conti was the first to evaluate Woerner this offseason, followed by vice president of football operations/player personnel Ryan Pace. The process began before Atlanta hired head coach Raheem Morris and a subsequently new staff.

While the Falcons retained a handful of offensive position coaches, tight end wasn't one of them, nor was offensive coordinator. Atlanta hired Zac Robinson to call plays for the offense and Kevin Koger to coach the tight ends.

When the staff started watching film on free agents, Koger excitedly recommended Woerner to Robinson. Both coaches liked what they saw, bringing Atlanta's holdover front office and remade coaching staff into alignment.

Falcons assistant general manager Kyle Smith said during training camp Woerner's time in San Francisco highlighted his strengths in a similar offensive scheme, one that required on-the-move blocking in a zone system littered with climbing and scraping.

Smith said Woerner was "really good" at handling those responsibilities in the run game. He proved it against Carolina.

Woerner routinely took out multiple Panthers defenders on the same play, working from one to the other by design while emphasizing his value to Atlanta's rushing attack one block at a time.

"He does an excellent job of creating combinations on the move with his players, whether it be (right guard) Chris (Lindstrom), (left guard Matthew) Bergeron, whoever it is. To watch him snap it off and go to the next level to get on a second level player and to really be able to attach to those guys, to not allow them to make the tackle is absolutely phenomenal.

"He's one of the best at it."

It's something Woerner started when he was in San Francisco, Morris said. The 49ers had many concepts centered around it, and Woerner brought it with him to Atlanta, making it a strength of the team's ground game.

Still, Morris feels there's plenty more to untap. Asking Woerner to make such blocks is difficult to do in practice against your own team, Morris said. The Falcons did it anyways during OTAs and training camp, but it's now progressed to a new level in the regular season.

And while Atlanta works toward perfecting its combination blocks with Woerner on the move, Bijan Robinson is already greatly appreciative for the impact Woerner's made in his first season with the Falcons.

"It helps tremendously," Robinson said. "Having Charlie here and on the offense is huge. I think he’s the best blocking tight end in the NFL, and we all know that. But just how he goes about his business and so humble about it -- you’d never think he’s this killer on the field, off the field.

"He’s a dog and I can’t wait to keep on playing with him."

Robinson said he'll often thank Woerner on the field or sideline, and Woerner is appreciative, yet low-key in a manner Robinson feels - shows his humility.

But the interactions aren't half-hearted or done with light intent. Morris noted Woerner's combination blocks and ability to open holes for Robinson and Allgeier has been "absolutely outstanding" -- and similarly proves the traits Woerner embodies.

"That's the energy and the edge you talk about, though, because none of that stuff requires a bunch of talent," Morris said. "That just requires a bunch of effort."

Woerner is the sixth of seven kids. He grew up in Tiger, Ga., which had a population of 426 people in 2022, with three older brothers, two older sisters and one younger sister.

The now-6-foot-5, 241-pound Woerner said he was often beat up by his older siblings, which taught him the consistently high effort he's now become known for both inside Atlanta's locker room and around the league.

And while Woerner's value is recognized league-wide, so is the practice habits 49ers coach Kyle Shanahan instills in his players. Woerner said he's had such day-to-day preparation since he was younger, largely due to the environment in which he was raised.

But Woerner's habits proved so strong Morris called Shanahan and said the Falcons' offseason acquisitions with history in San Francisco knew how to practice.

Now, Woerner is proving he can take his strong practive play onto the turf and under the bright NFL lights.

"Charlie is certainly the juice, the energy and a lot of the emotional push behind our running game," Morris said. "He just has such a pride in it. He's brought an edge. He's brought an energy. He's brought a bunch of different stuff to us that we love on game day and we love within the building every single day and what Charlie is."

Woerner's not only brought life to the Falcons off the field, but personnel versatility on it.

Atlanta ran 12 personnel -- one running back, two tight ends -- on 22 of its 56 snaps against the Pittsburgh Steelers in Week 1. Now, the Falcons run more 11 personnel -- one running back, one tight end, three receivers -- than any other team in the league at 81.9%, according to SumerSports.

Zac Robinson noted the strength of the Steelers' edge rushers created an emphasis to add more bodies to the line of scrimmage. Atlanta's offense struggled.

In the Falcons' Week 2 victory over the Philadelphia Eagles, Atlanta found much more offensive success. Robinson said the Falcons had a better balance of run plays, play action and drop back passing.

Atlanta heavily operated out of 11 personnel -- and as the offense started rolling, momentum grew around three-receiver sets. Robinson noted slot receiver Ray-Ray McCloud, who's in the midst of a breakout season with 24 receptions for 259 yards, is difficult to take off the field, as he's productive in the pass game and physical as a run blocker.

The Falcons may run more 12 personnel moving forward, Robinson said, perhaps as soon as Sunday's game against the Seattle Seahawks. It's dependent on the opponents' schematic challenges and matchups the Falcons want to exploit.

But Woerner gives Atlanta versatility. Robinson said he's a 12-personnel player, but Woerner's skill set offers a substantial boost to the creativity and variety with which Robinson can call plays.

"He provides a different element to the offense," Robinson said. "Obviously, we've been more 11 heavy as of late, and him being able to get in there and run block. He can pass protect. He can get out on routes.

"We're trying to always keep that balance to where our tendencies aren't leaning one way, which has been good through the first handful of games."

Lindstrom added Woerner does it all -- he can play on the line of scrimmage or in the backfield as a fullback -- while being a strong locker room piece to an offensive puzzle full of young faces.

Woerner will make $4 million this season. He's currently on pace to finish the year by making more than $1 million per reception.

But in the Falcons' journey to establishing more consistent balance offensively, Woerner's ability to diversify personnel packages and elevate Atlanta's middling rushing attack makes him worth every penny.

"The toughness that he brings -- the guy just loves playing football, and that's what's cool about it," Zac Robinson said. "You see him on the sideline getting fired up with everybody. Everybody has a little bit of a different edge when Charlie's out there, especially in some of the run game."