Well, it's not Mecole Hardman. But the Falcons did land a smaller, speedy potential slot receiver who might turn out to be the replacement for Damiere Byrd and potentially also Olamide Zaccheaus. Scott Miller was a sixth round pick by the Bucs out of Bowling Green in 2019, where he had averaged over 100 yards per game receiving in his senior year. His best season for Tampa was 2020, when he had 33 receptions for 501 yards. He's been a backup the last two seasons, with 24 total game appearances (one start) and 28 total receptions. So.... cons = hasn't been overwhelmingly productive to start his career, and last year he caught less than 60% of his targets. His yards after catch weren't particularly high either, suggesting he was mainly used for sideline passes. How he's used will be the big question in Atlanta. Damiere Byrd was a ghost for most of the season but had a pair of monster highlight receptions (and runs) once the team did use him as the home run threat. Which brings us to... Pro = he's fast. 4.39 at his pro day. That's faster than Zaccheaus. Byrd was faster at his pro day, but Byrd is now 30. He also has the deep ball potential. 7 of his 33 receptions in 2020 were for 20+ yards. So if Zaccheaus doesn't resign, the team now has Miller to replace him. And in a formation with Drake London and Kyle Pitts split wide, Miller in the slot, Jonnu Smith in line at TE, and Tyler Allgeier in the backfield, Miller's 4.39 speed would indeed be a weapon. At the very least, no one would be able to stack eight in the box to stop Allgeier.
Speed kills. Very necessary and you guys have that with Miller. Another good depth piece and an available deep threat.
The big question is how effectively the team will be able to use him (or Byrd or Zaccheaus or any other speedy slot guy). Last year, Zaccheaus and Byrd combined for 53 receptions. Sounds great until you factor in that Zaccheaus was the #2 WR rather than the #3, meaning they were not just splitting time in the slot role. Throw in that Kyle Pitts was out for much of the season, leaving them as the true #2 and #3 receiving options behind Drake London, and you kinda want more, even from a run-heavy team. On the plus side, Atlanta's offense is built for YAC much more than Tampa's offense. Over 40% of the team's receiving yards last year came after the catch. So if they do manage to get Miller the ball in space on screens or skinny post routes or whatever, look out... It's also another item scratched off the pre-draft checklist. Since the initial free agency frenzy they've quietly added two WRs, a CB, resigned an OL depth piece, and their veteran NT is allegedly changing his mind about retirement after taking a year off. I think the roster is looking really good for this point in the offseason - to the point that if the final roster cuts were tomorrow, they could already field a team that would be an upgrade over the 2022 version. The one big question mark is who starts at LG with Elijah Wilkinson still unsigned.
