The Falcons have spent the last couple of seasons looking for life in the return game, and Zachariah Branch looks like the answer they drafted to find.
Atlanta’s special teams has been a problem area for a while. After Avery Williams’ strong 2022 punt-return season, when he averaged almost three more yards than second-place Tremon Williams, the unit slid in a way that hurt the team.
That backdrop is exactly why the Falcons made Branch a third-round pick in the most recent NFL Draft. He brings offensive upside, sure, but his path to becoming one of the league’s better special teamers is just as real.
And while the competition is still technically alive, it already feels like Branch’s job to lose before training camp even wraps.
Any Georgia Bulldogs fan saw the same thing: Branch was underused. He’s the kind of fast, dangerous athlete who can do more than work behind the line of scrimmage and handle the occasional return. Atlanta is clearly excited to have him.
At Georgia, Branch returned 15 punts for 180 yards and 10 kicks for 205 yards in his lone season. That worked out to averages of 12 yards per punt return and 20.5 yards per kickoff return, and those numbers figure to climb in the NFL with more reps and better coaching.
His special-teams résumé was even louder before his time at Georgia. As a freshman at USC, before he decided that he didn't like USC's no-working-out-in-the-night policy, he led the Pac-12 with 332 return yards on only 16 chances.
He also finished with 24 returns for 442 yards and scored a touchdown in both return phases. His sophomore numbers dipped, but the larger point remains: this is a rookie who already looks built for the role.
Tori McElhaney of Atlantafalcons.com noted that Branch has been splitting return work with two others. "Three players continue to take the bulk of return reps," McElhaney wrote. "During that same punting period, Olamide Zaccheaus, Zachariah Branch and Dylan Drummond rotated as the return man."
Even with that rotation, Branch brings a different gear. Zaccheaus is expected to be leaned on early because of his veteran reliability, while Drummond does not have a guaranteed roster spot. Branch is the one with the burst that changes the whole feel of a return.
The only real wrinkle is what happens if he becomes too valuable on offense to keep exposing on special teams. That’s a familiar league-wide dilemma. The Chiefs once used Tyreek Hill as an All-Pro returner early in his career, then pulled him off those duties when he became too important to risk.
If Branch pops right away as an offensive threat, Atlanta could face the same question. But given how rough the return game has been, the Falcons may not want to overthink it.
The numbers from recent seasons tell the story. Atlanta finished last in kickoff-return average at 22.8 yards and 27th in punt-return average at 7 yards. In 2024, the team was middle of the pack in both categories.
That kind of field position has a way of grinding an offense down, and the Falcons saw enough of that last year. If they want to change the equation quickly, putting Zachariah Branch in as the return man is the fastest way to do it.
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Bates remains under contract for the coming season, which is exactly why the suggestion feels more like roster theory than imminent transaction talk. Even so, his future is part of the conversation, since he is headed toward free agency afterward, and any outside chatter about Atlantas defensive backbone is going to draw attention long before the season starts. [Read more 🡒]