Team news: Atlanta Falcons | Page 5

The Broncos elevated wide receivers Lil’Jordan Humphrey and Phillip Dorsett from the practice squad for Sunday’s game against the Raiders.

Teams can bring up a maximum of two players from the practice squad so the fact the Broncos used both spots on a wide receiver could be pretty telling regarding Jerry Jeudy’s chances to play Sunday. Jeudy is questionable with a hamstring injury. It feels like the Broncos will err on the side of caution here and play the long game with Jeudy, especially with a hamstring injury. We’ll know for sure a little before 3:00 Sunday with the Broncos in a 4:25 kickoff.

Rookie running back Bijan Robinson was listed as the team’s third-string running back despite being the eighth overall pick in this year’s draft and the subject of much praise from those around the team over the course of the summer. It’s now time for the regular season to begin and the Falcons have adjusted the chart to better reflect Robinson’s actual role on the team.

Robinson is listed as the starter in the backfield with Tyler Allgeier and Cordarrelle Patterson behind him in the pecking order.

We touched a little bit on the Falcons RB situation recently. There is expected to be a lot of carries for Allgeier with Patterson's role in question. And as the story added, all three players should see time in the offense when healthy — Patterson has been dealing with a soft tissue injury — but Robinson is expected to be one of the focal points in Atlanta’s attack. Tuesday’s change to the depth chart acknowledges that. Allgeier would be a great handcuff for Robinson owners.

You’re not going to like my answer, but I’m not sure we do [see Kyle Pitts become a dominating force]. This doesn’t mean I don’t think he’ll be very valuable this year and into the future. It’s just that in this system, I’m not sure he’s going to be “dominating” in any traditional sense.

The story went on to say the thing about Pitts is his best fantasy football value would be to essentially use him like the Falcons used him in 2021, which is to say as a wide receiver. Miami’s Mike Gesicki was the only tight end to play more snaps split wide than Pitts in 2021 (240 to 227), according to TruMedia. However, Atlanta drafted Pitts with the idea that he was a player with No. 1 wide receiver ability who could also play tight end well enough to give the team true positional flexibility. If Pitts can’t — or just isn’t asked to — block then it handcuffs the Falcons’ ability to manipulate the types of defensive personnel they face, the story went on to say. The piece did add Pitts' blocking ability has been praised this offseason.

In the last 10 years, five running backs have been taken in the top 10. Four of the five (Saquon Barkley, Ezekiel Elliott, Leonard Fournette and Todd Gurley) had 229 carries or more in their rookie season. The fifth (Christian McCaffrey) had only 117 carries but added 80 catches. When teams draft backs in the top 10, like Bijan Robinson, they use them a lot.

Related players: Tyler Allgeier, Cordarrelle Patterson

The author went on to say Allgeier will still get plenty of use because the Falcons ran the ball an NFL-high 559 times last year. So even if Robinson carries the ball 250 times, there are still plenty of carries to go around. Patterson’s role is a little bit more of a mystery, the story added. He'll be third on the team in carries, according to the author, but how far back he’s going to be is a question mark. The prediction is Patterson's 144 carries from a year ago could get cut in half this season.

Falcons coach Arthur Smith is still letting rookie running back Bijan Robinson know he’ll have to earn a starting job.

Although Robinson was the No. 8 overall pick and will surely be the No. 1 running back in Atlanta when the regular season starts, he remains the third running back on the depth chart for the Falcons’ third and final preseason game.

Cordarrelle Patterson is listed as the No. 1 running back and Tyler Allgeier is listed as No. 2.

While depth charts in August don't tend to mean a whole lot, the story went on to say Smith prefers to keep rookies behind veterans who have already proven themselves, and both Patterson and Allgeier played well last season. But Robinson was drafted to be the Falcons’ starting running back, and it remains overwhelmingly likely that he will be for the Falcons’ Week 1 game against the Panthers.

Arthur Smith said Cordarrelle Patterson will be out a couple of weeks, likely the rest of the preseason, and they will reevaluate and have more info on his status in the week before Week 1.

Related Players: Tyler Allgeier

This could end up being a huge boost to Allgeier, as the RB2 in Atlanta's scheme figures to be heavily involved. We will keep an eye on the situation, but a soft tissue injury for Patterson, who is entering his age-32 season could end up lingering longer the team is hoping.

Atlanta Falcons rookie running back Bijan Robinson is expected to make his debut Friday against Cincinnati, but even then don't expect a full gamut of what the No. 8 pick in this year's NFL draft can do.

"We're not going to go crazy," Falcons head coach Arthur Smith said. "We just need the reps. We need to get our bread-and-butter concepts in there and he'll see his tracks."

The story went on to say Smith said they'll give Robinson some of the basic stuff so he can feel the speed of facing another opponent in a game and have tackling in order to get him ready for Week 1 against Carolina. Robinson sat out the preseason opener against Miami along with many of the team's key players.

The Jacksonville Jaguars have signed K Brandon McManus, the team announced today. Additionally, the team has waived K Riley Patterson.

McManus, a nine-year veteran, has appeared in 144 games since 2014, all with Denver. In his nine seasons, McManus has converted 81.4 percent (223-of-274) of his field goal attempts and his 40 made field goals of 50-plus yards are third most in the NFL over that time span. His 946 total points are fifth-most in the NFL since 2014.

Things are heating up as we get some kicker news down the pipeline. As a team, Jacksonville scored the ninth-most points per drive and kicked the 11th-most field goals per game. Kicker enthusiasts rejoice; McManus has landed in a nice spot.

GM John Lynch announced the 49ers have exercised the 2024 fifth-year option for receiver Brandon Aiyuk, valued at $14.1 million, but declined the option for defensive tackle Javon Kinlaw. The 49ers had previously hinted that they’d make both of these moves, which are obviously tethered to the fact that Aiyuk has been productive — he notched a 1,000-yard season in 2022 — while Kinlaw has struggled to stay available due to knee issues.

Related Players: Danny Gray, Ray-Ray McCloud

The 49ers did add former Alabama tight end Cameron Latu, but we should expect them to add more talent to their pass-catching group before the draft is over. They have six late-round picks to do so, and whether or not any of those picks hit may effect the team's long-term view of Brandon Aiyuk.