The Falcons triumphed over the Browns in Week 4, but they lost versatile running back Cordarrelle Patterson to a knee injury. The veteran was placed on injured reserve on Monday and will miss Atlanta’s next four games at the very least.
Next men up? Tyler Allgeier and Caleb Huntley.
Our experts weigh in below on whether you should go out of your way on the waiver wire this week to roster either Allgeier or Huntley.
Sean Koerner: I have Allgeier ranked as my RB35 and Huntley my RB44.
Allgeier shared rushing duties with Huntley and operated as the main pass-catching back when Patterson went down. Allgeier is kind of like a discount James Conner, so view him that way — just without the massive TD upside. The downside for him is Marcus Mariota hasn’t been targeting RBs in the passing game.
Huntley was more of the short-yardage/goal-line back. That could be a problem on a team that won’t score many TDs, especially this week in Tampa Bay.
Samantha Previte: The Falcons leaned heavily on their run game after Mariota threw a pick in the third quarter on Sunday.
Mariota tallied just seven completions on 19 attempts for 139 yards, zero touchdowns, one interception and five rushes for three yards while Atlanta’s running backs accounted for most of the team’s total offense in the 23-20 win over the Browns. Allgeier had 10 carries for 84 yards and Huntley saw 10 carries for 56 yards and a touchdown. Allgeier also tacked on one catch for 20 yards.
Both running backs had better fantasy days than Kyle Pitts and Drake London combined, which is a massive indictment on the Falcons’ passing game. We may see Desmond Ridder soon with Mariota struggling through the air.
Until then, I expect the team to continue to lean on the run game heavily. Allgeier would be my preferred add over Huntley in terms of priority, though both could end up having value with Patterson on injured reserve.
Chris Raybon: The Falcons' backfield will likely be a committee with Patterson on IR.
Allgeier, a rookie fifth-round pick out of BYU, should be expected to lead the committee. He played a backfield-leading 24 snaps against the Browns, turning 11 touches into 104 yards. Patterson played between 59% and 65% of the snaps in Weeks 1-3, and I expect Allgeier to begin seeing a similar snap rate.
Huntley, a 2021 undrafted free agent out of Ball State, is next up. Allgeier played 31-37% of the snaps in Weeks 2-3, which is likely the type of workload Huntley will assume.
Arthur Smith is clearly comfortable with putting the rock in Huntley’s hands, as he has received a touch on 11-of-15 offensive snaps he has played this year (73%). Inside the 10-yard line in Week 4, Huntley handled three carries (and converted one into a TD) while Allgeier had none.
Avery Williams is a converted cornerback who will be the No. 3 back and play 5-15% of the snaps. Williams has seen 73% of his snaps come on passing downs, so his usage could spike when the Falcons find themselves in negative game scripts.
On a Falcons team that wants to run the ball, both Allgeier and Huntley should be rostered. Allgeier should be treated as a RB3/FLEX, with Huntley as a RB4/5.
