FLOWERY BRANCH, Ga. — When Raheem Morris returned to the Falcons' training facility in February as the team's new head coach, he didn't know much about Chris Blair. The wide receiver would soon become a familiar face.
Blair spent the 2023 season on the Falcons practice squad and was signed to a future/reserve contract before Morris was hired. During the early portion of the offseason, Blair was often in the building either lifting in the weight room with cornerback A.J. Terrell or running sprints on the field. This was before the Falcons even hired their strength and conditioning coach. Morris quickly took notice.
"He was in there working," Morris said. "Every single day, he would just walk by me. I was always too embarrassed to ask him, 'Hey, what's your name?'"
But the head coach would soon learn it.
Once OTAs began in May Blair started to make a name for himself, but Morris didn't put too much stock in the non-contact practices. He wanted to see more. He did once training camp and preseason began.
The receiver had a strong camp, developing an on-field rapport with rookie quarterback Michael Penix Jr. That relationship shone through in the Falcons' first exhibition game against the Miami Dolphins.
Blair recorded 45 receiving yards on two catches, one of which was a 41-yard toss from Penix down the right sideline on a well-executed deep route. He finished the preseason tied for third among all NFL receivers with 156 receiving yards in three games.
"It's a different feeling. Adrenaline was up, just being out there in Hard Rock, it's a stadium I've always seen on TV," Blair said of the first preseason game. "But actually being able to play in there and actually get to make plays in the stadium, it was a dream come true. Because everybody dreams of being in the NFL and making those types of plays. I'm glad I got the chance to do so."
Each team will have to cut their 90-man rosters down to 53 players by Tuesday at 4 p.m. ET, and the Falcons will have to decide whether Blair will be on it.
Related: Falcons 53-man roster projects part I | part II
Blair understands this; he's already familiar with life in the NFL. The receiver emerged from Alcorn State, a Southwestern Athletic Conference school in Mississippi. He played his final collegiate season in 2019. He initially worked out for the Green Bay Packers in August of 2020 before finally joining the team in January of 2021. He spent the 2021 season on the Packers' practice squad.
After a season away, Blair got another chance with Atlanta in 2023. He made his regular-season debut in Week 12 versus the New Orleans Saints. He didn't record a reception and played the majority of his snaps on special teams, an area in which where Blair has tried to carve out a role for himself.
"Being undrafted, you have to find your role on the team," Blair said "(For) a lot of guys it's special teams because you got guys like Drake London, Darnell Mooney on the offensive side who pretty much got those spots locked down. Now you're fighting for that fourth and fifth receiver roster spot."
As Blair mentioned, London and Mooney are locks. It's likely that Ray-Ray McCloud also fits into that category. Casey Washington also belongs in that conversation as a 2024 draft pick that the Falcons are quite high on, and veteran KhaDarel Hodge is a quality special teams player and backup.
So, is there room for Blair? Last season Atlanta carried five wide receivers on the initial 53-man roster. The Los Angeles Rams, who Morris and offensive coordinator Zac Robinson coached for in 2023, had six. The loss of Rondale Moore, who was placed on injured reserve, also creates another opening for Blair to potentially fit in.
Regardless of what Morris and company decide, Blair has already made his name known.
"Those kind of kids, they always make it tough on you in these times," Morris said.
