As a seventh-round pick, you never know when your number is going to get called. When it does, however, you have to make the most of your opportunity.
For Athan Kaliakmanis, his opportunity came on the third offensive series in the Washington Commanders' Week 4 game in London against the Indianapolis Colts. The rookie entered his first regular-season NFL game following an injury to Marcus Mariota.
Ahead of stepping onto the field, Jayden Daniels approached Kaliakmanis on the sideline. He gave Kaliakmanis words of encouragement and reminded him he was prepared to go in and do his job despite not having taken in-game snaps since the preseason.
"Man, Jayden's just a dude," Kaliakmanis said in talking to Brian Colbert Jr. on the "Next Man Up" podcast. "He's just a guy's guy, man. He's such a good dude to be around and that happiness was pure joy for me ⊠I think how we are as a group, I mean, we're so close a group -- me, Marcus, Sam and Jayden -- we're all just super tight. We spend most of our time together every single day, so I think we're all just happy for each other and I think that really meant a lot to me.
"It meant a lot to see those guys being happy for me and to see my teammates because it's not easy; the work is not easy, but moments like that make it so worth it. They make everything worth it, so...I can't say enough how grateful and thankful I am for that room. I really do love those guys, they've got a special place in my heart, and same with the coaches, obviously."
Kaliakmanis threw his first NFL touchdown in the third quarter of the game. With good protection from the offensive line, Kaliakmanis had time to drop back, go through his reads and find Treylon Burks streaking down the field ahead of his defender. Kaliakmanis saw the opportunity Burks had and launched it 47 yards downfield right into Burks' arms for the touchdown.
"Man, I'm thinking, 'go make a play, man, go make a play!'" Kaliakmanis said. "I believe in football being a player's game, and my guy, I trust him. That's the way I play the game and that's the way I'm gonna play the game. Like, if you're one-on-one, I'm gonna give you your opportunity to go make it happen, and the line just gave me great protection up front, just outstanding protection. Everybody did what they were supposed to do, and Treylon made a great adjustment on the football."
On the next drive of the game, Kaliakmanis looked to hand off the ball to Jacory Croskey-Merritt on a play action call, but instead dropped back, rolled out to his right and hit a well-defended Dyami Brown with a 48-yard pass. He finished the game with 15 completions on 33 attempts for 186 yards, one touchdown and an interception.
"Just being able to get live bullets and watching film on yourself and see where you are, and right now, I've got a lot to learn," Kaliakmanis said. "I love that part of the game though, that's why I do it because I love learning and love seeing what I can get better at ⊠It's because I know I've got a lot to improve on. I know that, and that's what gets me excited. It's like, man I've got so much more I can do, I've got so much more in that tank I can give out. So, it's about approaching every single day like man, you've got to go get it and earn it today."
Even though he still has a lot to learn, Kaliakmanis is willing to put in the work and own the reps he takes on the field. Although Daniels has been named the starter for Washington's Week 5 matchup against the New York Giants, Kaliakmanis is excited for the opportunity to back up Daniels. He's especially excited to be back at Northwest Stadium, a place he said "feels like home."
"I said that when I got drafted, and I'll say it now. This place truly feels like home, and I'm so thankful for the fans, I'm so thankful for the players. I'm thankful for the coaches. It's all a connected effort. We're all in this together, and we're going to ride with each other man, that's it."
