Fantasy- 32 Teams in 32 Days: The Atlanta Falcons
By Matt Mikolas
Fantasy Football Off-Season Overview – Atlanta Falcons
Two years ago, I notoriously (at least here in Seattle) referred to the Atlanta Falcons as the Hotlanta Fraud-Cons. Naturally, they went to the Super Bowl that year.
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I was a year early on that call.
Sure, the Falcons made the playoffs in 2017. Shoot, they even won a game in January!
But the team once held in the highest esteem offensively crashed down to earth last season.
Matt Ryan only threw 20 touchdown passes, compared to 38 in 2016.
In 2016, Devonta Freeman had more than 1,000 yards, and scored 13 touchdowns on his own. Last year, Freeman and Tevin Coleman COMBINED for 16 scores, with eight each.
Atlanta’s offensive attack is still recovering from losing offensive coordinator Kyle Shanahan to San Francisco.
If the Falcons are looking for changes, they aren’t going the route of changing up personnel. They did add rookie WR Calvin Ridley, but other than that, they didn’t make any major changes to their locker room on the offensive side of the ball. It looks like they’re counting on Matt Ryan and OC Steve Sarkisian getting on the same page in their second year working together.
I Gotta Get Me One of Those!
Even with Matt Ryan having a down year fantasy-wise, Julio Jones still emerged as a top five wide receiver last year. He didn’t really score (three touchdowns) but it didn’t really matter. 88 receptions and 1,444 yards were enough to make having Julio worth it to fantasy owners. I expect him to add to that low touchdown total this year.
Buyer Beware
I expected to put Tevin Coleman into this section. He always seems to be a chic pick, and I don’t view him as valuable as where he goes in drafts. But, it’s hard to ignore the production. He’s 1,000 all-purpose yards and 8 touchdowns like clockwork. How can I advise against that?
There is always a temptation to take a highly drafted rookie wide receiver in an offense that has the perception of being high producing. But, as I’ve indicated, the offense has slowed down in fantasy production. Julio sucks up a lot of the targets, and both running backs take up their share as well. Most rookie seasons for wide receivers turn out like last year did for guys like Mike Williams and Corey Davis, instead of for instance 2014 when Mike Evans and Kelvin Benjamin burst on the scene.
A disappointing season for Ridley is much more likely than a prosperous one.
Stay Woke
Austin Hooper is someone you should look at as a tight end that can teeter on the border of that second tier group. His production ticked up last year quite a bit, and I expect it to ramp up even further in 2018. Backs and tight ends are crucial in this offense, and if you ask me who will be more productive relative to their position, I’d say Hooper will have more value this year than Ridley.
For the record, the REAL sleeper here is Matt Ryan. I just feel really really weird about calling Matt Ryan a sleeper. MATT RYAN??? But, looking at where he’s going in some mocks, yeah! Crazy as it is, Matt Ryan is a sleeper.
Sure, he had a down year last year. But you can’t keep a good man down … right? If it’s the 10th round and Ryan is still on the board, just go and grab him.
Next. Fantasy Football Debate: Jordan Howard vs Devonta Freeman. dark