Briefly thought to be the winner of the Deshaun Watson sweepstakes, the Falcons were among the teams most heavily connected to a quarterback in this year’s draft after the Browns swooped in and submitted the winning bid for Watson. Atlanta did indeed select a QB, adding Cincinnati signal-caller Desmond Ridder in the third round, and the club also signed free agent passer Marcus Mariota in March, shortly after trading franchise icon Matt Ryan to the Colts.
With Mariota and Ridder at the top of the first QB depth chart of the post-Ryan era, 2021 UDFA Feleipe Franks was facing long odds to see the field, at least as a quarterback. As such, the team has converted Franks to a “hybrid” player, as head coach Arthur Smith recently told reporters, including D. Orlando Ledbetter of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution (subscription required).
Franks enjoyed a successful redshirt sophomore season with Florida in 2019 and then suffered a season-ending ankle injury early in the 2020 season. He finished his collegiate career with SEC rival Arkansas, throwing 17 TDs against just four interceptions in nine games with the Razorbacks in 2021. The Falcons signed him after he went undrafted last April, and he made the roster as the third-string QB behind Ryan and Josh Rosen. He was elevated to QB2 late in the season.
While Franks will still sit in the quarterback room and take reps as a passer, he is also getting work as a tight end, where he got some practice time last season as well. At 6-6, Franks has the right height for a TE, but at 228 pounds, he is a little light relative to full-time tight ends around the league.
“Right now, it doesn’t mean that doesn’t change, but right now he’s working more at tight end than quarterback, but he also is a quarterback,” offensive coordinator Dave Ragone said.
Perhaps the Falcons are envisioning a role like the one Taysom Hill has enjoyed in recent seasons with the Saints, though Franks’ 2.2 yards-per-carry rate as a collegian is a far cry from Hill’s 5.3 YPC average, which he has replicated as a pro. If Franks is to have success as a hybrid player, it will likely be more as a receiver than as a runner.
Atlanta, of course, has 2021 first-rounder Kyle Pitts entrenched as its top tight end option, and the team has also made significant investments into the rest of its receiving corps this offseason, signing fellow TE Anthony Firkser, trading for WR Bryan Edwards, and drafting wideout Drake London with the No. 8 overall pick. So Franks will still have something of an uphill battle to make an impact as a pass catcher, but he has embraced the opportunity.
“I’m doing whatever they ask me to,” he said. “There are a lot more things I have to learn. A lot of the tight ends in the room have helped me with my route crafting and blocking. There are a ton of things I need to learn.”
‘Briefly thought to be the winner of the Deshaun Watson sweepstakes….”. It seems like the only the the Browns won is a head case, bad contract, and scowl of the league!
With Atl’s WR getting a year ban betting $1,500 vs. Watson’s case with up to 66 massage therapist and 24 charges, I would guess a year suspension would be the bare minimum.
But Goodell just makes up rules so it very could be a 2 game one like Ray Rice got (prior to the video release).
Falcons did win the Watson sweepstakes. Because they don’t have to deal with the headache.
It was purely stupid for the Falcons to ever go after Watson. Too much drama and legal trouble. Bad PR. He cost way too many high draft picks and that’s exactly what the Falcons need to rebuild this team. He also would kill our payroll at $230 million. Our payroll situation already sucked without him. On top of that they offended Matt Ryan and ended up trading him for peanuts while they still have to pay his massive salary. They should have stuck with the plan. Keep Ryan for at least 1 more year since you have to pay him anyway. Then draft a QB who is actually good in one of the next 2 drafts since they all sucked in this last draft. Now we are still paying Matt Ryan over $40 million next year and we have no proven QB in the team. The Falcons are going to be terrible next season. At least they should get a top draft pick to spend on a QB next year. They need to figure out a way to trade Deion Jones. We are paying that guy well over $20 million a year and he’s not even close to worth it. Get his contracts off the books and drafts a top talent QB so they can spend money on things like offensive and defensive lines. You can’t win in this league unless you are great in the trenches and have a good QB. Wide receiver, running back, tight end and secondary are all positions you shouldn’t even worry about until you get your lines and QB set up right. Your offense can’t do anything unless your O-Line can block for them and other QBs will walk all over you if you can’t pressure them. Jones used to be good at pressure in the past but all his massive paychecks have come with a serious drop in production.
Good coaching staffs get the best from every player no matter how they are used. Franks might not be a starting QB in the NFL, but with work I think he has the tools to be an excellent H type TE. He can certainly get immediate reps in games.
I would love to see him out there carving up defenses opposite Pitts.