austin hooper-stiff arm

If you’re not familiar with Atlanta Falcons tight end Austin Hooper, you probably will be soon.

A third-round pick in 2016 and a popular fantasy breakout pick this summer, Hooper announced himself Sunday with two catches for 128 yards. Both receptions involved Hooper flinging defenders to the ground with the type of stiff arms you’d usually see only in Madden.

First came this 88-yard touchdown catch, in which a wide-open Hooper caught a pass from Matt Ryan around midfield, then made Bears safety Quintin Demps look like a fool on the way to the end zone.

Later that same quarter, Hooper pulled out his stiff arm once again, swatting away cornerback Kyle Fuller on his way to a 40-yard gain up the sideline.


Most players don’t pull off two stiff arms like that in a career, let alone in a quarter.

Last season, Hooper had 19 receptions for 271 yards and three touchdowns. This year, he could eclipse those figures by Week Six.

In case you want to bask in all the stiff-arm glory one more time:

About Alex Putterman

Alex is a writer and editor for The Comeback and Awful Announcing. He has written for The Atlantic, VICE Sports, MLB.com, SI.com and more. He is a proud alum of Northwestern University and The Daily Northwestern. You can find him on Twitter @AlexPutterman.