Calvin Ridley suspended: Who can Falcons replace him with at WR?

Had he been healthy a year ago, George Pickens would have been a first-rounder

If the Falcons are looking for a combination of draft picks and Dawgs at wide receiver, look no further than George Pickens. The true junior decided to turn pro after an injury-shortened 2021 campaign. Though he did not play very much for Georgia during its title run, his upside as a No. 1 wide receiver might be too good to pass up in the second round. For the value, he is the right pick.

Pickens can be a little streaky, but when he is on, he can absolutely take over a game. The cool part about him is he can dominate as a possession receiver, go up and get it on contested catches deep downfield and will ruffle up some feathers when called on to run block. In short, he has the necessary grit a mediocre team in dire need of a new identity like the Falcons could be looking for.

Adding a player with a championship pedigree to the equation from down the road may work out.

Allen Robinson was a potential free agent target anyway, so just make it happen

Though Terry Fontenot was going to have to do some salary-cap gymnastics to untangle the Gordian knot his predecessor Thomas Dimitroff created, there was a chance Chicago Bears wide receiver Allen Robinson was going to be a Dirty Bird anyway. With Dave Ragone in his second year as offensive coordinator, Robinson could join his former Bears teammate Cordarrelle Patterson.

While winning may not be Atlanta’s forte this year, the Falcons should at least be competitive. More importantly in Robinson’s situation, he will have someone competent throwing him the football in Atlanta in future Hall-of-Famer Matt Ryan. After having dealt with the likes of Christian Hackenberg, Blake Bortles and Mitchell Trubisky in recent years, Matty Ice would be so wonderful.

With Ridley out of the equation for next season, Atlanta has no excuse not to pursue Robinson.