RB Tyler Allgeier gives Falcons hope with breakout rookie year

Greg Auman

NFC South Reporter

Tyler Allgeier has earned the right to catch his breath.

The running back’s breakout rookie season with the Falcons, rushing for more than 1,000 yards as a fifth-round pick out of BYU, finished a long grind that went from college to draft prep to the pros. So he took a few weeks home in Fontana, California, resting and recuperating before resurfacing at Super Bowl LVII activities in Arizona.

“Coming off combine, rookie camp, season, I just needed to chill out,” said Allgeier, still only 22, at a Super Bowl event a few days before the big game. “So I ended up chilling with family, my girl and all that. Then I got back at it, training, so we’re good.”

Allgeier’s emergence during his rookie year was one of the most promising aspects of the Falcons’ 7-10 season. He rushed for more than 51 yards just once in his first eight games, but then took on a more prominent role, hitting 52 yards or more in eight of the last nine games. At a time when many first-year players hit the supposed “rookie wall,” Allgeier was just getting started.

Over the last six games of Atlanta’s season, Allgeier led the NFL with 537 rushing yards while ranking eighth in the league in carries, and his average of 5.4 yards per carry was the best out of the league’s top 25 ballcarriers in that span. When he was done, he had rushed for 1,035 yards on the season, breaking the team’s rookie rushing record, set 43 years earlier by William Andrews with 1,023 in 1979.

Allgeier’s season stands out in more than just franchise history. He’s the third rookie back in the past five NFL seasons to rush 200-plus times and average 4.9 yards or better, joining the Colts‘ Jonathan Taylor (2020) and the Giants‘ Saquon Barkley (2018).

Allgeier said he’s most proud of how a young team grew during the season, finishing a game out of first in the NFC South and playing in a ton of close games along the way. Atlanta had eight games decided by a field goal or less, matching the Chargers for the most in the NFL.

“We were a young team, and obviously we have our vets, but to do what we were able to do, I think 13 of our games were [one-score] games,” he said. “We only got blown out once — that was against Cincinnati — but every other game was close. That next step will be a challenge for us, but I think all of us have our minds right for it.”

Atlanta had rookies at three key positions on offense down the stretch, with first-round pick Drake London at receiver and third-round pick Desmond Ridder at quarterback alongside Allgeier. Add in two second-rounders in pass-rusher Arnold Ebiketie and linebacker Troy Andersen, and you had a young nucleus that Allgeier said helped each other learn the NFL ropes.

“I think we built that relationship rooming together, so right after practices, getting all together in one guy’s room, jotting down plays and being ready for the next day,” he said. “Having that relationship, we built on that through the year.”

Allgeier’s ability to grind out his best games late in a season is nothing new. In college at BYU, he did that in both of his seasons as a starter: In 2020, he closed the year with four straight 100-yard games after getting only two in the first seven, and in 2021, he finished with five 100-yard showings in the last six games, again after just two in the first seven.

BYU’s Tyler Allgeier breaks 86-yard TD run

In 2020, Tyler Allgeier started a 51-17 rout over No. 21 Boise State with an 86-yard touchdown run. BYU went 11-1 that season.

As a team, the Falcons finished third in the NFL in rushing — with a league-high 559 rushing attempts — and Allgeier said he learned from sharing the backfield with an established runner like Cordarrelle Patterson.

“Aw, CP, he just sets the tone,” Allgeier said. “He’s always talking about balling out, and how everything happens for a reason, so just keep your head down and do your thing.”

Atlanta has the No. 8 pick in the draft, potentially using that to upgrade their pass rush, and the Falcons have $56 million in cap space, the second-most out of 32 NFL teams. That puts them in position to fill their needs and upgrade their talent, giving them confidence in an NFC South that should still be very much up for grabs with uncertainty at quarterback for all four teams.

Allgeier has shown he can run the ball, so his focus is on improving other parts of his game, like pass-catching (16 catches for 139 yards as a rookie) and staying back in pass protection as the Falcons throw the ball more.

“Protecting the quarterback is always a big key for me,” he said. “Obviously we can run the ball, but being able to protect the quarterback and still be a threat in the backfield, that’s what I want to continue to strive for.”

Greg Auman is FOX Sports’ NFC South reporter, covering the Buccaneers, Falcons, Panthers and Saints. He is in his 10th season covering the Bucs and the NFL full-time, having spent time at the Tampa Bay Times and The Athletic. You can follow him on Twitter at @gregauman.

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