Arthur Smith made an interesting move this past Sunday against the Giants. With injuries piling up, Feleipe Franks was active on the 53-man roster. While Arthur Smith was still in the script on his first drive, Franks lined up as a tight end.
I was being a bit tongue in cheek, but this isn’t the first time this idea has been floated. While he never played tight end in college, we have seen guys like Logan Thomas make the switch with successful results after not cutting it as a quarterback in the NFL. Scouts at the Senior Bowl even mentioned the idea of Franks as a tight end due to his size and athleticism.
As you can see, besides his weight, Franks looks like a decent project at the position:
Personally, I still want to give Franks a shake at quarterback. He didn’t look amazing as a passer during the preseason, but he made some plays with his feet and even ripped of a 51-yard scramble.
I don’t think letting Franks play some tight end is a bad idea, but only if the team is sure he doesn’t have much of a future at quarterback. I don’t like the experimenting during a game, but he could stay on the practice squad and develop for the rest of the year if they think he has a future. Franks’ natural size and athletic gifts can’t be taught, but tight end is a difficult position to adjust to in the NFL. Maybe the Falcons can develop him into a weapon, but for now, that’s yet to be seen.
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