Fansided

10 NFL players who are regression candidates in 2020

By Nicholas McGee

Derrick Henry, Tennessee Titans, #22 (Photo by Peter G. Aiken/Getty Images)
Derrick Henry, Tennessee Titans, #22 (Photo by Peter G. Aiken/Getty Images) /
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LOS ANGELES, CA – DECEMBER 29: Dante Fowler #56 of the Los Angeles Rams celebrates while playing the Arizona Cardinals at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum on December 29, 2019 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by John McCoy/Getty Images)
LOS ANGELES, CA – DECEMBER 29: Dante Fowler #56 of the Los Angeles Rams celebrates while playing the Arizona Cardinals at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum on December 29, 2019 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by John McCoy/Getty Images) /

DE. player. Dante Fowler. 6. Scouting Report. Pick Analysis. Atlanta Falcons. 44

Fowler earned a three-year, $45million contract from the Atlanta Falcons this offseason following an 11.5 sack season with the Rams in 2019.

Still only 25, Fowler has plenty of room to grow into a consistently dominant pass rusher off the edge. The question surrounds whether he has joined the right franchise with which to take that leap.

The Falcons defense propelled them to an impressive second half of 2019 but they are a team that has seen edge rushers struggle in recent times.

Former first-round pick Vic Beasley did not pan out and Takkarist McKinley’s option has not been picked up by Atlanta.

Without the benefit of the league’s best defensive player, Aaron Donald, attracting double and even triple teams to open holes for Fowler to pursue the quarterback, the former Jacksonville Jaguar looks unlikely to match his sack tally from 2019.

The Falcons do have their own wrecking ball on the defensive line in the form of Grady Jarrett. He has shown the ability to take over games but is not yet at the level of Donald.

Fowler will have to work harder in Atlanta to maintain his 2019 production and, with just one double-digit sack season to his name as a pro, the Falcons should temper expectations of him doing so.

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