Ex-UGA TE drops on Falcons depth chart

Flowery Branch — In just a matter of a few days, tight end Justin Peelle shot past Martrez Milner on the depth chart.

Peelle, a seven-year veteran, was claimed off waivers from Miami six days before the season opener. After a quick refresher course in offensive coordinator’s Mike Mularkey’s system, Peelle played about 30 snaps in the 34-21 victory over Detroit.

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Curtis Compton/ccompton@ajc.com

Tight end Justin Peelle (87) isn’t wasting any time making an impact with the Falcons.

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Milner, the former Georgia Bulldog, dropped to the No. 3 spot and was inactive for the game.

While Peelle played for Mularkey the past two seasons in Miami, Milner was slowed during training camp by a foot and leg injury — and the Falcons needed a tight end who could deliver punishing blocks and catch passes.

“Justin is guy that ended up having to play three different positions in three or four days,” Falcons coach Mike Smith said. “Justin did a good job, and Coach [Chris] Scelfo did an outstanding job getting him prepared.”

Peelle, a college teammate of former Falcon quarterback Joey Harrington at Oregon, was a four-time academic All-America. He needed all of his brain cells to get ready.

“They walked me through a lot of stuff,” Peelle said. “I came in here early and had to walk through some stuff on my own. Just a lot of studying and a lot of memorization.”

Peelle’s tenacious preparation earned him some respect from his teammates.

“He was able to come in and hit the ground running,” tight end Ben Hartsock said. “He had a lot to chew on every day. He was staying late.”

Milner, a fourth-round draft pick in 2007, ,started two games last season and played in eight. He finished the season on injured reserve after suffering an ankle injury.

“Justin has come in and upgraded the tight end position,” Scelfo said.

Milner, who is from Gainesville, took the news that he would be inactive hard, but he seems to have come around.

“Every day I have to come out with the mind-set that I’m going to get better, whether if it’s receiving balls from the quarterback or blocking,” Milner said. “I just can’t focus on what the person ahead of me is doing.”

While Peelle and Hartsock blocked as expected, they also each caught passes of 13 and 17 yards, respectively. The lone pass the Falcons threw inside Detroit’s 20-yard line went to Peelle, but was incomplete.

“Both of our tights understand their roles and how they fit into our offense,” Scelfo said. “That’s the biggest key for us, and that’s knowing what our role is.”

Much has been made of how the position is not a pass-catching spot under Mularkey’s run-heavy attack.

“If we’re open and the quarterback throws it to us, we’ve got to make a catch,” Scelfo said. “Our guys can catch the ball when it’s thrown to them.”

Peelle does not have any delusions of grandeur.

“I’ve done it all in my career, nothing great, nothing bad, but I’ve done it,” Peelle said. “I had to block in Miami, and that’s what I did the last two years. I caught a few more balls last year.

“Hopefully we’ll both get a bunch of balls and be on the field a lot. As long as we’re running the ball and we’re winning, it doesn’t matter what we do.”

Hartsock isn’t worried about catching many passes, either.

“We just have to be reliable,” Hartsock said. “We just have to be consistent. Everybody is going to label us as run-blocking tight ends and that’s kind of what we’re going to be asked to do a majority of the time, but we are also going to be involved in the passing game.”

Peelle hopes to play 35 to 45 plays against Tampa Bay.

“I’m not the biggest, fastest or strongest guy, so I’ve got to use my head on a lot of things,” Peelle said. “That’s what got me more advanced than my athletic skills.”