LA Rams WR TuTu Atwell: Can a smurfy WR survive the NFL?

Compact comparisons

Walk with me as we step into the way-back machine and George Allen is prowling the sidelines of the LA Coliseum as the coach of the Los Angeles Rams. Allen had a smallish defensive back he used as the team’s punt and kick return man named Alvin Haymond and boy, was he electric!

He actually led the NFL in punt returns in 1969 and kickoff returns in 1970. Haymond was 6-feet tall and 190 pounds, so the comparison is not totally apt, but nevertheless, Atwell does remind of Haymond, perhaps just because he wore the Rams’ uniform. Is Atwell destined to be Alvin Haymond 2.0 for these LA Rams in 2021?

Another NFL player of more recent vintage who comes to mind is Trindon Holliday, who played the game at 5 foot-five and 165 pounds and had his best years playing for the Denver Broncos as their kickoff and return man. He’s almost a carbon copy of Atwell in size and speed (four inches shorter it seems, if measurements can be trusted), as he ran a 4.21 at the NFL Scouting Combine in 2010. Holliday enjoyed a four-year career in the NFL as one of the shortest players in NFL history.

Drafted by the Houston Texans in the sixth round of the 2010 NFL draft out of LSU, Holliday played for the Denver Broncos, New York Giants, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, San Francisco 49ers, and Oakland Raiders. And he was a return man with truly breakneck speed and dubbed The Unstoppable Man. Here are some highlights of Holliday: Trindon Holliday, The Unstoppable Man.

Sometimes, heart and determination outplay size. Here’s hoping Atwell also proves to be Trindon Holliday 2.0 for the LA Rams.