Atlanta Falcons Fantasy Preview

2018 Stats (Rank)

Total Offense: 6,266 Yards (6th)
Offensive Touchdowns: 47 (8th)
Offensive Plays Per Game: 63.1 (17th)
Pass Attempts + Sacks: 659 (5th)
Rush Attempts: 351 (30th)
Run/Pass Split: Run – 35% | Pass – 65%
Unaccounted for Targets: 63
Unaccounted for Carries: 179

Projected Win Total

The Falcons’ over/under currently sits at 9.0, after they went 7-9 last season. Atlanta suffered a number of devastating injuries to key players last season. Getting healthy and making a change at offensive coordinator are two of the biggest reasons the Falcons are expected to improve.

Strength of Schedule

SOS is measured by calculating the fantasy points allowed by each team’s opponents to determine who has the easiest and most difficult fantasy schedules (rank #1 has the easiest schedule).

QB: 10th
RB: 32nd
WR: 4th
TE: 26th

Passing Game

QB: Matt Ryan, Matt Schaub
WR: Julio Jones, Justin Hardy
WR: Calvin Ridley, Russell Gage
WR: Mohamed Sanu
TE: Austin Hooper, Luke Stocker

The Falcons continue to have one of the better passing attacks in the NFL, especially for fantasy. Matt Ryan continues to be one of the most trustworthy quarterbacks, finishing as QB2 last season and never missing a game in his career.

Ryan has a trio of talented wide receivers to pass to. Julio Jones remains one of the top receiving threats in the league. He finished last season as WR4, and that’s where he’s being drafted this year. Calvin Ridley took the league by storm last season. He began his career with a ridiculous six touchdowns in his first four games, but cooled off in that category after that. Still, he finished as WR22 in PPR, and he has a current ADP of WR23. Mohamed Sanu is overlooked because of the other two, but he is a solid fantasy producer in his own right. He finished last season as WR31 in PPR, but is currently falling in drafts to WR70. At tight end, Austin Hooper finished as TE6 while only scoring four touchdowns. Obviously, we would want this total higher, but it’s encouraging to see that he can produce at a starting tight end level for fantasy without being touchdown dependent. He is currently going as TE11.

Running Game

RB: Devonta Freeman, Ito Smith, Qadree Ollison
2018 OL Run Rank: 24th

Injuries kept Devonta Freeman sidelined for the majority of the 2018 season. He looks to return to form this year, being a valuable threat out of the backfield in both the running and receiving game. Freeman is currently being drafted as RB16. Second-year back Ito Smith seems in line for a big spike in workload, with Tevin Coleman now in San Francisco. Smith had 90 rushes last season, but the Falcons would like to have that total in the 150-175 range for this year. He is currently being overlooked, with an ADP of RB50. After the Falcons addressed the offensive line in the draft, the blocking up front figures to be better for both backs.