The Atlanta Falcons lost a key player in their offense with the retirement of tight end Tony Gonzalez. So will the Falcons look towards the draft to find their tight end of the future to replace Gonzalez? ESPN’s Vaughn McClure doesn’t think so.
“[Quarterback Matt] Ryan shouldn’t waste time taking tight end Levine Toilolo out to the practice field. No one expects Toilolo to be Tony Gonzalez, but the former fourth-round pick from Stanford will get his opportunity to be the primary tight end,” McClure wrote for ESPN. “Personally, I don’t believe the Falcons are going into the draft looking for a starting tight end. There might not be a big emphasis on the tight end in the offense this season, anyhow.”
Surprising considering that Gonzalez was their second leading receiver last season behind only Harry Douglas, Gonzalez had 83 receptions for 859 yards and eight touchdowns. Of course the Falcons wide receiver duo of Roddy White and Julio Jones both dealt with injuries and with those two healthy, Ryan won’t be short of targets in 2014.