The Atlanta Falcons made the surprising move when they parted ways with running back Mike Davis this offseason. Davis started eight games last year, but ultimately lost his starting job to wide receiver turned running back Cordarrelle Patterson.
It looks like they will now go forward with Patterson receiving the majority of touches, but they made a move to shore up depth on the roster.
The Falcons signed veteran running back Jeremy McNichols on Thursday. He has spent the last two years with the Tennessee Titans where he served in a backup role behind Derrick Henry.
McNichols has some familiarity with Falcons head coach Arthur Smith, who was McNichols’ offensive coordinator during his time in Tennessee. He should serve in a complementary role behind Patterson, where he will need to battle out Damien Williams and rookie running back Tyler Allgeier for a share of the running back touches.
The team’s running game has been an issue over recent years. They have not had a 1,000-yard rusher since the 2016 season when Devonta Freeman rushed for 1m079 yards.
On paper, the team’s offense may be limited with Marcus Mariota at the helm and a less than impressive run game to boot. If the season doesn’t go to plan for the team, we may see what rookie quarterback Desmond Ridder can provide to the team sooner rather than later.
