The Falcons only ask their fullbacks to block in the running game and they will likely do a decent job of that in 2008.  6’1″, 254 pound Ovie Mughelli will be the starting fullback again this season for the Falcons.  Mughelli played in 16 games (7 starts) for the Falcons last season and he carried the ball 6 times for 7 yards (1.2 ypc).  He also caught 6 passes for 36 yards (6.0 avg) last year.  Don’t look for him to get his hands on the football much but he will be leading the way for Michael Turner and Jerious Norwood in the running game.  Mughelli has now played in 54 games (19 starts) in his NFL career and he has carried the ball 18 times for 57 yards (3.2 ypc) with 1 TD run.  He has also caught 30 passes for 231 yards (7.7 avg) with 2 TD grabs in his career.

Corey McIntyre will be the backup at fullback for the Falcons this year.  He is 6’0″, 244 pounds so he doesn’t bring as much pop blocking in the running game as Mughelli does.  He played in 14 games (0 starts) last season for the Falcons and he didn’t touch the football.  McIntyre is a good special teams player so his roster spot will not be in jeopardy.  McIntyre has now played in 33 games (1 start) in his NFL career and he has caught 1 pass for 10 yards.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE 2008 SEASON:  C+