FLOWERY BRANCH, Ga. — The building Austin Hooper walked into a few days after signing with the Atlanta Falcons at the start of the 2026 league year was not the one he remembered entering after being drafted by the organization in 2016.
What used to be a door to an office space is now a wall. What used to be a one-level weight room is now two stories tall.
The building has grown, just like Hooper has in the six seasons since he last wore a Falcons uniform. In the same way Hooper has gained more experience since 2019, the facility has expanded. It's modernized. The locker room, weight room and cafeteria are all different — new and polished. And yet, Hooper said, a sense of familiarity still runs through the walls. It may look different, but the organization at its core is the same.
In a way, that describes Hooper, too.
"I've grown up," he said.
Hooper returns to Atlanta on a reported one-year deal. Since his last season with the Falcons in 2019, he has played for four other teams, including Kevin Stefanski's Cleveland Browns from 2020-21. All the while, though, he has continued to call Atlanta home.
So when the opportunity arose to play for the Falcons again, the decision was a "really easy" one for Hooper, especially with the chance to reunite with Stefanski.
"Understanding his style, his philosophy, his approach, the way he leads his team," Hooper said. "Also, the way he makes sure that his entire staff as a whole is on the same page and able to articulate the same message to the players, he does a phenomenal job."
Hooper has always appreciated the multiple tight end sets Stefanski deploys, as well as the route concepts built into the scheme. There's familiarity there. But as Hooper walked deeper into the Falcons' facility, he encountered another familiar face.
Like Hooper — and like the building around him — that face has changed, too.
It's the face of Matt Ryan, who now holds a new role in the organization. No longer the franchise quarterback, and no longer Hooper's quarterback, the tight end last week walked into an office fit for the president of football.
Hooper couldn't help but laugh, saying he now "feels a little old" seeing Ryan as an executive rather than the quarterback yelling out plays in the huddle.
"This man went from throwing me touchdowns to now it's like, 'Hi, Mr. President,'" Hooper said with a laugh on the Atlanta Falcons Podcast Network. "But nah, he's still Matt."
He's still the quarterback who called Hooper in the offseason to get extra work in. He's still someone Hooper has "a ton of respect for." If anything, Hooper said, what hasn't changed about Ryan may be what helps him succeed as an executive.
"What I think will really allow him to succeed in this role will be the same type of deal that helped him succeed as being one of the best passers in the history of the game," Hooper explained. "His ability to articulate to the people around him what he needs, and his work ethic. He's not going to stop until he gets something right. That's one thing I know about Matt. I don't see him changing what made him such a great player and those core philosophies that helped him reach such heights. I don't see him all of a sudden trying to do something new as the president. I think that fire, that competition, that attention to detail will still be there."
It's simply wrapped in a new package.
The same could be said for Hooper. He may have grown up, as he put it, but the kid who was drafted by Atlanta in 2016 is still there. The fire remains, and he's eager to tap into it during another season with the Falcons.
"Just like (when I was drafted), I am super excited to be a Falcon again," Hooper said. "... I still have my love for the game, just like I did when I was 21."
