Running back Caleb Huntley caught his first career pass this weekend against the Bears. All in all, it wasn't much of a play. Mariota was looking downfield towards Drake London and Olamide Zaccheaus but bailed and threw it to his outlet. That was Huntley, who was out in the flat to the right, about four yards behind the line of scrimmage. He caught the pass and was able to pick up enough ground to turn it into a two yard gain before getting knocked out of bounds. The significant part is that the team is now willing to use Huntley as the outlet in their play calls, and Mariota is willing to throw it to him. And that should be a little bit of an eyebrow-raiser for Damien Williams, or more to the point, his agent. Williams is one of many players the Falcons signed to relatively inexpensive one-year contracts in free agency. Unfortunately, he was hurt in the season opener after just two rushing attempts. Time to play mock GM. Would you re-sign him for 2023? Cordarrelle Patterson will still be under contract. The team just drafted Tyler Allgeier this year. One of last year's draft picks, Avery Williams, is now listed as a running back. And then there's Huntley, the undrafted free agent from Ball State who spent 2021 on the practice squad after COVID wiped out most of his conference's 2020 season. That's four horses already in the stable. Of the four, Huntley is the extra roster addition that makes it questionable whether there's room for Damien Williams to return in 2023. He was first elevated from the practice squad in week two as Williams' replacement, but he had just one carry in that game. His coming out party was in the win over the Browns, with 10 carries for 56 yards and a touchdown. His stats alone suggest he's on the roster to stay. He now has 70 attempts for a 4.79 average, 17 first downs and a touchdown. But it's the more advanced stats that showcase what he brings to the team. 34% of his runs (fourth highest percentage in the league) have come against 8+ defenders in the box. NFL's NextGen stats claim he gains 1.11 yards per carry over expected yardage (ninth highest in the league). He's simply a bruiser. Williams is faster, having put up a 4.45 at his Combine, though that was back in 2014. At times he has also been a factor in the passing game, catching 30 balls out of the backfield (on 37 targets) for Kansas City in 2019. That ability to be the outlet man is part of why Atlanta signed him. But Allgeier has 10 receptions (on 10 targets) so far in his rookie season, Avery Williams has even lined up at WR like Patterson, and now even Huntley is showing that he can be an outlet receiver. If the plan for 2023 is a four man RB group, Damien Williams seems to be the odd man out. Like Patterson, he's 30+ but doesn't have much overall wear and tear for his career. But unlike the others, his contract expires at the end of the season. What would you do as mock GM?
Reports are in that Williams is now healthy, but instead of designating him for return from IR the Falcons are going to release him. So, odd man out indeed. Atlanta's offense needs a spark in the passing game, but the run game has been thriving in recent weeks. Tyler Allgeier has stepped up and taken Williams' place as RB #2, and Caleb Huntley has taken what would have been Williams' roster spot and is providing depth for the RB group. Perhaps Williams can latch on with a team suddenly needing RB depth down the stretch.
