2014 Review
Last season might have been an incredible disappointment for the Atlanta Falcons on the field, but a couple players put up solid fantasy seasons. Matt Ryan finished as the seventh-best fantasy quarterback, throwing twice as many touchdowns (28) as interceptions (14). Meanwhile, Julio Jones tallied 104 receptions for nearly 1,600 yards en route to a No. 8 ranking among wide receivers. Those two players will continue to be high-end options at their respective positions moving forward.
Slowed down by age and injuries Roddy White put up his second consecutive sub 1,000-yard season. In addition to that, the Falcons running game struggled big time. Current free agent Steven Jackson led the club with just over 700 yards as the team ranked in the bottom quarter of the NFL in rushing.
NFL Draft
Rookie third-round pick Tevin Coleman is the player to watch here. The former Indiana standout is coming off a 2014 campaign that saw him put up over 2,000 rushing yards and 15 scores. At 6-foot and 210 pounds, Coleman has the size to be a three-down running back in the NFL. He also has the ability to pick up the tough yards between the tackles as well as the speed to turn the corner. With seemingly no real competition at running back, besides potentially Devonta Freeman, Coleman should see enough touches to put up mid-tier RB2 numbers as a rookie. It's all about him getting the necessary touches.
Former East Carolina receiver Justin Hardy is also someone to check out. With Harry Douglas out of the picture, there is a chance Hardy could break into the receiver rotation. Leonard Hankerson and Devin Hester are his two biggest competitors for the No. 3 receiver job. I like Hardy's odds there. Still, he's probably not much more than a waiver-wire add in re-draft leagues.
Potential Breakout Star
Kyle Shanahan-led offenses have in the past loved to use their tight ends. From Owen Daniels in Houston and Jordan Cameron in Cleveland to Fred Davis in Washington, some medicore tight ends have put up decent numbers in his system. Now that the Levine Toilolo experiment has failed, new addition Jacob Tamme has an opportunity to start for a quarterback in Matt Ryan, who has succeeded most when he's using his tight ends a great deal in the passing game. Tamme may be five years removed from putting up 67 receptions for the Indianapolis Colts, but he's definitely someone to keep an eye on.
The more logical pick here would be Coleman, who we covered above. If he starts, the rookie's floor is likely as a decent FLEX option. His ceiling, however, is a bottom tier RB1.
Potential Disappointment
If we are still working under the misguided belief that Freeman is a realistic fantasy option, he sure would be the disappointment here. But we have more faith in our readers than that.
Roddy White is the player to watch. He's put up less than 1,000 receiving yards in each of the past two seasons, and isn't going to be existing in the same pass-first offenses we saw under the old regime. Without the necessary targets, which have also decreased in each of the past three years, there's no real chance that White's numbers increase from last season. In fact, it wouldn't be a surprise to see him fail to hit the 800-yard clip in 2015.
Projected Stats | Player | Stats |
| Matt Ryan | 4,300 yards, 31 touchdowns, 13 interceptions |
| Tevin Coleman | 1,150 rushing yards, 300 receiving yards and seven touchdowns |
| Julio Jones | 95 receptions, 1,400 yards and 12 touchdowns |
| Roddy White | 60 receptions, 750 yards and six touchdowns |
| Justin Hardy | 40 receptions, 550 yards and four touchdowns |
| Jacob Tamme | 45 receptions, 500 yards and four touchdowns |