Just about every coach and player associated with the Falcons' offense was just downright giddy about the play of tight end Tony Gonzalez at the recently completed minicamp.
Gonzalez was flying around the field like a youngster.
On his first day, he asked tight ends coach Chris Scelfo to throw him passes before practice.
On the last day of minicamp, he stayed after and had one of the ball boys throwing his passes.
Clearly, he was showing the Falcons' young players how a future Hall of Famer goes about his business.
Offensive coordinator Mike Mularkey had him run a couple of vertical routes and it doesn't look like the 33-year-old has lost a step.
"He's everything that I've seen for the last nine or 10 years," Falcons head coach Mike Smith said. "He's the prototypical tight end. He can block. He can catch. He can run after the catch. He's just a guy who's going to make everybody on this team, offense and defense, better.
Gonzalez and quarterback Matt Ryan didn't waste time trying to connect. After he was traded on the Thursday before the draft, the following Wednesday Gonzalez was in Flowery Branch catching passes from Ryan.
On the first day of minicamp, Ryan couldn't help but send a ton of passes to Gonzalez.
"Any time that you get a new toy, you want to try it out," Ryan said. "I threw a couple of balls his way, and he didn't disappoint. He made some good catches. He does a great job of getting open. I'm just excited to have him here."
Gonzalez, is the all-time NFL leader in receptions (916), receiving yards (10,940) and touchdowns (76) for a tight end. He has made the past 10 Pro Bowls and has been selected to the All-Pro team five times.
