Considering the long odds that rookie Ryan Schraeder beat just to make it to training camp with the Falcons, perhaps it should come as no surprise that the never-ending shuffle of the team’s offensive line has moved him into a more prominent role.
Not long ago Schraeder was a short and skinny basketball and baseball player who gave up football before high school. Now he’s in line to split snaps at right tackle with veteran Jeremy Trueblood on Sunday at Green Bay, after both played against the Bills in the previous game.
When training camp opened, Schraeder appeared to be an underdog whose compelling story would come to a quiet end on the waiver wire. Circumstances conspired to give him a chance to be a significant contributor for the Falcons, and he showed enough potential to warrant more chances.
“He kind of came out of nowhere,” Falcons offensive coordinator Dirk Koetter said. “We didn’t know much about this guy. Our scouts did but the coaches, we didn’t. He’s steadily improving. We gave him more opportunities last week, and he made the most of them.”
Schraeder certainly has more to prove after a handful of productive snaps at right tackle. His rapid career trajectory from football neophyte to rookie free agent to part-time Falcons starter suggests he has a decent shot to keep climbing.
Schraeder, 25, is nearly 6-foot-8 and about 300 pounds, but he said he was about 5-7 at the end of his junior year of high school. He said was 6-4, 175 pounds when he graduated high school, and by the end of that summer he reached his current height.
Immediately after high school Schraeder went to college part-time and worked at a meat and poultry company in his hometown of Wichita, Kan. He ended up playing football for Butler Community College in Kansas when a coach noticed his athletic ability during a pickup basketball game.
Schraeder said there was some awkwardness in his transformation from short, skinny guy to big offensive lineman. He made the transition so fast that he was an All-American for Butler and NCAA Division II Valdosta State while winning national championships at both schools.
Schraeder said he long ago became accustomed to his size, but that inside he still feels like the scrawny kid who has to prove his toughness.
“I think the meanness inside me, the attitude out on the field,” Schraeder said. “A little bit of that mean streak can probably be correlated to that.”
The Falcons were impressed with Schraeder’s work ethic from his first days with the team. Still, it seemed he would at most be a long-term prospect for the practice squad until injuries and ineffectiveness upended the team’s line.
Right tackle Mike Johnson suffered a season-ending ankle injury during training camp, and Schraeder suddenly was competing with Lamar Holmes to replace him. After Holmes won the job and the Falcons signed Trueblood, it appeared Schraeder was destined to spend the season on the game-day inactive list.
But after Joe Hawley replaced Peter Konz at center, Schraeder was promoted to play Hawley’s tight end position in the “jumbo” formation. Trueblood struggled against the Saints in Week 12, opening the door for Schraeder to be among the young players to get more playing time.
Schraeder acquitted himself well in 27 offensive snaps against the Bills. Pro Football Focus credited Schraeder with allowing no sacks, pressures or hits in 12 pass plays, but downgraded him for a holding penalty on a running play in the third quarter.
Schraeder said he was a bit wide-eyed when he signed with the Falcons because he had to adjust to the superior size and talent of NFL defensive linemen while also learning the Falcons’ offense. But he said he notices a dramatic difference in his performance when he watches video of his play now as compared with training camp.
“I feel like I’ve caught up pretty quick to everybody, which has helped me out a lot,” Schraeder said. “I’ve had good coaching. I work hard; that’s part of it, too. But there’s still a long ways to go, I realize that.”
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