It would be tough to rank degrees of happiness for the Falcons as they prepare to play the Seahawks on Saturday in a divisional playoff game, but it’s a sure thing that, uh, diminutive wide receiver Taylor Gabriel is high on the mirth list.
Just don’t label him.
Undersized by athletic standards, especially those applied in football, he tore it up in college at Abilene Christian, yet at 5-foot-8 and 165 pounds, no NFL team bothered to draft him in 2014.
Just don’t call him a utility man.
Sure, he has a singular skills that makes him unique — the dude is ridiculously fast and his average of 16.5 yards per catch this season reflects that — yet there’s more in his tool box than speed.
He’ll crack a big boy if necessary.
“If they ask me to block the Sam linebacker, I’ll do that,” Gabriel said. “I’m bigger than a utility guy because I catch deep balls. I can run crisp, short routes. I can stop. I can be a full wide receiver. I feel like the utility thing is just extra, something I can do for this team.”
Gabriel’s done plenty.
One day after the Falcons made their final preseason roster cuts, they claimed him off of waivers after the Browns released him.
Few in Atlanta knew who he was, probably, because, well, he played for the Browns.
Falcons fans know him now. He’s the team’s fourth-leading receiver with 35 catches for 579 yards and six touchdowns despite joining the team a week before the season, one day after the Browns released him.
Who can forget the 76-yard bomb against the Eagles, or the 35- and 25-yard scores against Arizona? Those count as explosive plays. They were both screen passes, and the Cardinals had no clue what happened as Gabriel caught passes, picked up blocks, and took off like he was shot out of a cannon.
So, he’s more than a deep threat, more than a guy who runs like the wind.
“He’s tough,” Falcons offensive coordinator Kyle Shanahan said. “Pound for pound, he’s a very strong person. His lower half and his upper body, he is strong and Taylor has developed. He can run all the routes; he’s not just a gadget guy.”
Falcons coach Dan Quinn said Taylor’s, “not a utility player for us. He’s an every-down receiver, downfield, in-breaking routes, deep balls, screens so it’s not where he comes in for specialty plays.”
The Falcons have even run Gabriel on jet sweeps, and he’s picked up 51 yards on four carries this season.
He’s in Atlanta in part because Shanahan knew him from their shared time in Cleveland, where Kyle was the offensive coordinator in ’14.
Gabriel was a monster in college, with 215 receptions for 3,027 yards and 27 touchdowns. But, he’s not big.
“We got him in a tryout camp. He was great in college,” Shanahan said. “Any time you have a smaller guy, you want to see if he can handle the hits and he can … The only thing negative people can say about Taylor is his height, but I think it gives him an advantage.
“It allows you to be quicker, you always have your feet underneath you. There’s not anything — a run play, a route — that we wouldn’t put Taylor on.”
Taylor’s production shouldn’t be considered a shock. As a rookie for Cleveland, he caught 36 passes and his 17.3-yard average per catch was third-best in the NFL. His role was reduced last season, when he had 28 catches.
Who knows why the Browns cut Gabriel?
He doesn’t care while cooling the jets before the playoffs, thankful as can be.
“Of course you have to be grateful for the situation that you’re in, but the model around here is just to focus on the next day and the next day of prep,” he said. “I’m just focused on what we have to do to get more prepared for Saturday.”
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