Tyler Allgeier is set to get the first crack at the spotlight in Arizona.
The former Atlanta Falcons running back is officially listed as the Cardinals’ top option at the position for Sunday’s season opener against the Los Angeles Chargers. It’s a notable turn for Allgeier, who signed a two-year contract with Arizona in free agency after spending his first four seasons in Atlanta.
That path looked even clearer at first, but the picture changed when the Cardinals used the third overall pick in the 2026 NFL Draft on Notre Dame standout Jeremiyah Love. Even with that addition, Arizona has Allgeier at the top of the depth chart heading into Week 1, giving him a chance to open the year in a featured role.
Allgeier’s career started in Atlanta as a fifth-round pick out of BYU in the 2022 NFL Draft, and he wasted no time making that selection look like a bargain. He cleared 1,000 rushing yards as a rookie, even though he began the season as a healthy scratch.
His role shifted in 2023 after the Falcons took Bijan Robinson with a top-10 pick, but Allgeier still remained a key piece of the offense. Together, he and Robinson gave Atlanta one of the league’s best running back duos over a three-year stretch.
Over his four seasons with the Falcons, Allgeier piled up 2,876 rushing yards and 18 touchdowns. Now 26, he brings a bowling-ball running style that can set the tone for an offense.
For now, at least, he gets the first carry of the Arizona era. Whether that lasts is another question.
In Other News...
Falcons May Have Found Another Ian Cunningham Reclamation Project
The Falcons kept their defensive line churn going this week by adding Zacch Pickens to the practice squad and moving on from Carlos Allen Jr. Pickens arrives with a familiar kind of rsum for this front office, since he was a third-round pick by the Bears in 2023 and has already spent time with the Chiefs and Giants before landing in Atlanta.
For Falcons general manager Ian Cunningham, the move fits a pattern that has followed him from Chicago to Atlanta, where he has continued to bring in players he once helped draft or acquire with the Bears. Whether Pickens turns into more than a depth addition remains to be seen, but the connection is hard to miss, and it adds another layer to the way the Falcons have been shopping for help. [Read more 🡒]
Falcons Open With A Familiar Aaron Rodgers Problem
Aaron Rodgers will begin what is expected to be his 22nd and final NFL season on Sunday, Sept. 13, and the Falcons are the first team tasked with dealing with him again, this time with Rodgers lining up as the Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback. It is a familiar challenge for Atlanta, because even as Rodgers has changed teams, the matchup still centers on the same veteran presence who has defined so many game plans over the years.
Falcons coach Kevin Stefanski spent part of his press conference giving Rodgers the kind of respect that usually comes with a future Hall of Famer, praising both his skills and his experience. For Atlanta, the timing makes the opener feel even bigger, since the Falcons are being asked to open the season against a quarterback whose career achievements are well known and whose recent play still makes him a problem any week he is on the schedule. [Read more 🡒]
Falcons Early Draft Link Raises Bigger Question Next To Drake London
As the Falcons keep sorting through their long-term roster picture, one early look ahead to the 2027 NFL Draft has them adding another receiver to the conversation. A mock draft projection sends Indiana wideout Charlie Becker to Atlanta at No. 12 overall, a reminder that even with Drake London entrenched as the headliner, the team could still be looking for more size and playmaking on the perimeter as it builds around its offense.
Beckers profile makes the fit easy to picture, with his physical traits and recent production giving him the kind of upside that can spark draft buzz this far out. But the bigger question for Atlanta is whether receiver is really the path it wants to take when the draft gets there, or whether the development of other players pushes the Falcons toward a different priority, including quarterback, depending on how the next couple of seasons unfold. [Read more 🡒]