X
Lost password?

Don't have an account?
Join the Best Live Fantasy Chat Community!

X

Receive free daily analysis

NFL
NBA
NHL
NASCAR
CFB
MLB
MMA
PGA
ESPORTS
BETTING

Already have an account? Log In

X

Forgot Password


LINEUP RESOURCES

Articles & Tools
Import Your Leagues
Weekly Rankings
Compare Any Players
Starts and Sit
Daily Fantasy
Who To Pickup
Fantasy Updates
24x7 News and Alerts

Atlanta Falcons 2020 Fantasy Outlook

The Atlanta Falcons have been struggling to advance in the playoffs since the 2016 season when they made the Super Bowl and the “comeback” happened (sorry Falcon fans). 2019 was the second consecutive year the team missed the playoffs, and coach Dan Quinn is certainly on the hot seat once again this season.

The defense was the primary culprit for the 7-9 record in the 2019 season. Nevertheless, the offense remains potent for Atlanta and they have a multitude of weapons that are fantasy relevant. Though guys like Devonta Freeman and Austin Hooper are no longer on the team, there are plenty of new faces who could make up that production.

Let’s break down the fantasy value of Matty Ice and his offense:

 

Quarterback

Matt Ryan has been a generally reliable fantasy QB; he finished 11th among fantasy QBs in 2019, 2nd in 2018, 15th in 2017, and 2nd in 2016. Now 35 years old, the QB is entering the latter part of his career, but still has the weapons to succeed. Last season, he compiled 4,466 yards, 26 touchdowns, 14 picks, 297.7 yards per game, and a 92.1 quarterback rating. He had a 14.6 percent poor throws per pass attempt rate.

In terms of rushing, Ryan finished 19th among NFL QBs in 2019 with 147 yards. He also had one rush touchdown. The Atlanta QB surprisingly had his career-high in rush yards during a season in 2019 (though only by a smidge). That’s impressive for a 12th year QB.

His 2019 stats more or less fit his career averages per season. Ryan was fifth in pass yards among NFL QBs, fourth in pass yards per game, and tied for eighth in pass touchdowns, which still shows his splendid abilities.

Based on his overall stats from 2019, his recent fantasy football finishes among QBs, and the bevy of weapons at his disposal, Matt Ryan is a capable QB1 on redraft teams. The offense will once again be high-octane in 2020 as the defense looks to regain its footing.

 

Running Back

With the departures of Devonta Freeman, the Falcons brought in former Georgia Bulldog and Los Angeles Ram Todd Gurley II. The 25-year-old has recently been plagued by injuries to his knee and quad, thus hindering his production last season with the Rams among his lackluster usage being brought to light.

The ending of Gurley’s Rams tenure was rather tumultuous, as he split carries at times last season, was not the workhorse back owners grew accustomed to seeing, and the extent of his injury was kept rather unclear.

Now on the Falcons, Gurley is back to being an RB1 again. This time, he joins another explosive offense. The RB will only be 26 to start the season, so there is no reason to doubt he is in his prime. However, injuries and re-aggravations should be a top factor when deciding whether to draft Gurley.

Advertising

The RB suffered a knee injury towards the end of the 2018 season, so his stats weren’t as skewed from injury during that campaign. Gurley finished with 1,251 rush yards, 4.9 yards per carry, 17 rush touchdowns, 59 receptions, 580 receiving yards, and four receiving touchdowns. He also had 2.5 rush yards after contact per rush and 617 rush yards after contact.

In the 2019 season, after being rather limited in the playoffs the season before, the 2015 pick had a dip in his stats. The RB had 857 rush yards, 3.8 yards per rush, 12 rush touchdowns, 31 receptions, 207 receiving yards, and two receiving touchdowns. He also had 2.2 rush yards after contact per rush and 374 rush yards after contact.

When healthy, Gurley is elite in fantasy. He finished 1st among fantasy RBs in 2017 and 2018 before dropping to 12th in 2019. However, after it was reported that the Georgia product had arthritis in his knee in March 2019, it surely raises some concern about durability. Though he is the RB1 on the team, Gurley should be considered an RB2 on fantasy teams heading into the season because of his recent injury history.

 

Wide Receiver

The Falcons have two fantasy-relevant receivers in 2020, Julio Jones and Calvin Ridley. There is no reason to doubt Julio’s abilities. He finished 6th in 2016 among fantasy WRs, 6th in 2017, 5th in 2018, and 5th in 2019. Last season, he undoubtedly paced the team with 99 receptions, 157/684 targets (22.9%), 1,394 yards, 14.1 yards per catch, 92.9 yards per game, and six touchdowns. He has had six straight 1,000-yard seasons with 100+ targets.

The Alabama product finished with the second-most receiving yards among NFL WRs in 2019, along with ranking sixth in receptions, third in receiving yards per game, and second in targets. At this point, there is no reason to doubt the 31-year-old as anything other than a top-five fantasy receiver who can be the WR1 on any redraft fantasy team.

With veteran receiver Mohamed Sanu Sr. being traded to the Patriots midway through last season, 2018 pick Calvin Ridley has now emerged as the clear WR2 on the team. The 25-year-old accumulated 63 receptions, 93/684 targets (13.6%), 866 yards, 13.7 yards per catch, and seven touchdowns. Those were roughly the same numbers as his rookie campaign in 2018. Ridley should likely get similar stats in 2020 considering his large role in this offense and his now two years of rapport with Matt Ryan. He is a solid WR2 on redraft fantasy teams.

The next three receivers on the depth chart, Russell Gage, Christian Blake, and Olamide Zaccheaus, were all relative non-factors in 2019. They combined for 63 receptions, 103/684 targets (15.1%), 652 yards, and two touchdowns. Unless one of these WRs gives owners a reason to pick them up during the 2020 season, none of them should be drafted in fantasy or be considered as prospects.

 

Tight End

With Austin Hooper heading for Cleveland in March on a monster deal, the Falcons brought in former Ravens tight end Hayden Hurst via trade during the offseason. Hurst will replace Hooper as the TE1 and has landed in an ideal situation as he was not atop the TE depth chart in Baltimore after the emergence of Mark Andrews.

Hurst finished 2019 with a modest upgrade in his numbers compared to his rookie season in 2018. The 26-year-old had 30 receptions, 39/440 targets (8.9%), 349 yards, 11.6 yards per catch, and two touchdowns. Nevertheless, there is potential for the tight end to finally have a great season and show his value as a first-round pick.

Advertising

There are no threats to Hurst’s role as top TE on Atlanta. Jaeden Graham is the “closest,” but he finished with nine receptions, 10 targets, 149 yards, and one touchdown on the season last year. Because he is on a high-powered offense, the South Carolina product can be considered a TE1 in 14+ team redraft leagues or a backup in other leagues for now.

More Fantasy Football Analysis




LINEUP RESOURCES

Articles & Tools
Import Your Leagues
Weekly Rankings
Compare Any Players
Starts and Sit
Daily Fantasy
Who To Pickup
Fantasy Updates
24x7 News and Alerts

WIN MORE IN 2024

Articles & Tools
Import Your Leagues
Weekly Rankings
Compare Any Players
Starts and Sit
Daily Fantasy
Who To Pickup
Fantasy Updates
24x7 News and Alerts

ROTOBALLER PLAYER NEWS

RANKINGS
C
1B
2B
3B
SS
OF
SP
RP

MORE RECENT ARTICLES

 
Alexis Diaz fantasy baseball closers rankings draft sleepers waiver wire pickups

MLB Closers and Saves: Fantasy Baseball Depth Charts

Saves are an important component for many fantasy baseball leagues. Closers are one of the most volatile positions in fantasy baseball, and one of the highest turnover positions in MLB. Each year, closers drop like flies and many MLB teams make in-season changes due to injuries or poor performance. In addition to closers and saves, relief... Read More


Do These Prospects Matter for Fantasy Baseball?

The 2023 fantasy baseball season has been highlighted by the promotion of nearly two-dozen top prospects to the major leagues to impact fantasy rosters. This week's edition features one player who was called up as the piece was being written. Will these strong performers join the ranks of those who have moved to the majors... Read More


clayton kershaw fantasy baseball rankings draft sleepers MLB injury news

articles report test

this is a test


Starting Pitcher Waiver Wire Pickups for Fantasy Baseball - Week 24

Welcome back! It's Week 24 of our fantasy baseball Starting Pitcher Waiver Wire Pickups series! There are just two precious weeks left, and every start is becoming more and more important as most of the fantasy baseball world is in playoff matchups. If you've made it this far, there's a good chance you don't really... Read More


Aaron Nola - Fantasy Baseball Rankings, MLB Injury News, DFS Lineup Picks

Starts & Sits for MLB Week 23 - All Starting Pitcher Matchups for Fantasy Baseball

Welcome back RotoBallers! Big week in fantasy leagues as we approach the end of the season and playoffs! As always, we are here with our starting pitcher starts and sits series to help you set those winning lineups for the week ahead! For those who are not familiar, RotoBaller puts out a weekly grid of... Read More


Gunnar Henderson - Fantasy Baseball Rankings, MLB Prospects, Draft Sleepers

Points League Hitters: Waiver Wire Pickups for Fantasy Baseball - Week 24

Welcome to Week 24 and our fantasy baseball waiver wire hitters. We'll be doing this roundup of points leagues every week here at RotoBaller, with waiver wire targets and streaming pitchers being evaluated in terms of the different scoring systems of ESPN, Yahoo!, CBS, and Fantrax. Player values can vary wildly from platform to platform,... Read More


Brayan Bello - Fantasy Baseball Rankings, Draft Sleepers, Waiver Wire Pickups

Two-Start Pitcher Streamers for Fantasy Baseball - Week 24

Yo, it's Jon Anderson, continuing to run the show here in terms of late-summer fantasy baseball writing. There are just two weeks left of streaming pitchers, so let's make it count! This weekly fantasy baseball waiver wire pickups column aims to identify starting pitchers expected to make two starts in the upcoming fantasy baseball week,... Read More


Fantasy Baseball Week 24 Injury News and Updates: Tyler Glasnow, Ozzie Albies, Starling Marte, Anthony Rizzo, Zack Wheeler

September is now more than half over. The baseball season is slowly coming to a close. At this point, fantasy players are pushing for their league titles or just playing for pride. Major League Baseball teams continue to do the same and injuries continue to happen, now with the dreaded term "done for the season"... Read More


Joe Musgrove - Fantasy Baseball Rankings, Draft Sleepers, MLB Injury News

Free MLB Betting Picks - Today's Best Bets, Expert Predictions, Odds (9/17/22)

Happy Saturday, RotoBallers, we're back for another weekend of MLB betting picks! Make sure you're following my Twitter, as I can't guarantee that I'll always be able to get the added plays written here in the article, but I will typically add whatever else I'm playing throughout the day. The entire RotoBaller team has been... Read More


DraftKings, FanDuel Daily Fantasy Baseball Picks (9/17/22): Today's Top MLB DFS Lineups

Today's MLB slates are split up as is the norm for September baseball. Half the guys I think will play will not, so you have to be as flexible as Gumby to play MLB DFS in September, but that also means that there is a lot of money out there should you dare to dive... Read More


Max Fried - Fantasy Baseball Rankings, Draft Sleepers, MLB Injury News

Free MLB Betting Picks - Today's Best Bets, Expert Predictions, Odds (9/15/22)

Happy Friday, RotoBallers, we're back for another weekend of MLB betting picks! Make sure you're following my Twitter, as I can't guarantee that I'll always be able to get the added plays written here in the article, but I will typically add whatever else I'm playing throughout the day. The entire RotoBaller team has been... Read More


Robbie Ray - Fantasy Baseball Rankings, MLB Injury News, Draft Sleepers

DraftKings, FanDuel Daily Fantasy Baseball Picks (9/16/22): Today's Top MLB DFS Lineups

Fridays are big MLB DFS days and offer a nice respite from the NFL, who command our attention on Thursdays, Sundays, and Mondays. This slate, like most Friday slates, is a big one as all MLB teams are in action today and 28 of those teams are on tonight's 14-game DFS slate. This was a... Read More


kyle farmer fantasy baseball rankings draft sleepers MLB injury news

Top Hitter Streamers and Starts for Fantasy Baseball - Week 24

There are only two weeks left of fantasy baseball! It's going to be very sad when the season comes to an end, but the impending end of the season means that these are the most important, and therefore most fun weeks of the year – for those of you still competing, at least. I have... Read More


TODAY’S MOST VIEWED PLAYERS

rotating JS ad test

RANKINGS

QB
RB
WR
TE
K
DEF

MORE RECENT ARTICLES

 
derrick henry fantasy football rankings news NFL DFS lineup picks

test publish 5 mins in future

Hello everybody and welcome! The 2022 NFL season is finally underway and that means our friends over at PrizePicks have a TON of great props we can look to take advantage of. PrizePicks is a great DFS picks site where you can choose to select plays in terms of fantasy points or single stats. The... Read More


PrizePicks NFL DFS Picks - Monday Night Football

Hello everybody and welcome! The 2022 NFL season is finally underway and that means our friends over at PrizePicks have a TON of great props we can look to take advantage of. PrizePicks is a great DFS picks site where you can choose to select plays in terms of fantasy points or single stats. The... Read More


D'Andre Swift - Fantasy Football Rankings, NFL DFS Lineup Picks

Fantasy Football Injury Reports For NFL RBs: Updates for Aaron Rodgers

Warning: Undefined array key "amp_post_template_footer" in /var/www/rotoballer.com/wp-content/plugins/php-code-for-posts/Classes/Shortcode.php(91) : eval()'d code on line 6 Warning: foreach() argument must be of type array|object, null given in /var/www/rotoballer.com/wp-content/plugins/php-code-for-posts/Classes/Shortcode.php(91) : eval()'d code on line 6 Featured Promo: Get any full-season NFL Premium Pass for 50% off and win big in 2022. Exclusive access to our Premium articles, 15 lineup... Read More


derrick henry fantasy football rankings news NFL DFS lineup picks

PrizePicks NFL DFS Picks - Monday Night Football

Hello everybody and welcome! The 2022 NFL season is finally underway and that means our friends over at PrizePicks have a TON of great props we can look to take advantage of. PrizePicks is a great DFS picks site where you can choose to select plays in terms of fantasy points or single stats. The... Read More


Justin Jefferson - Fantasy Football Rankings, DFS Lineup Picks, NFL Injury News

NFL DFS Prop Picks for Monkey Knife Fight - Monday Night Football

Welcome to NFL Monday Night Football, where we have two games scheduled between the Minnesota Vikings vs. Philadelphia Eagles and the Tennessee Titans vs. Buffalo Bills.  Monday's games mean our friends at Monkey Knife Fight are offering some fantastic props for us to play once again! The good people at Monkey Knife Fight offer some... Read More


D'Andre Swift - Fantasy Football Rankings, NFL DFS Lineup Picks

Fantasy Football Injury Reports For NFL RBs: Week 2 Updates for Najee Harris, J.K. Dobbins, D'Andre Swift, Alvin Kamara, Mark Ingram

Below you will find our fantasy football injuries report for running backs in Week 2, as of September 17. The injury statuses for various NFL running backs are up in the air for Week 2 including D'Andre Swift, Najee Harris, Alvin Kamara, J.K. Dobbins, and more. The fantasy football season may be just getting underway,... Read More


michael pittman jr. fantasy football rankings NFL DFS lineup picks

Fantasy Football Injury Reports For NFL WRs: Week 2 Updates for Michael Pittman Jr., Mike Evans, Tee Higgins, Allen Lazard, Julio Jones

Welcome to Week 2 of the fantasy football season and the Saturday edition of our WR injury reports! Below you will find our fantasy football injuries report for wide receivers in Week 2 as of September 16th. The injury statuses for various NFL wide receivers are up in the air for Week 2, including Michael... Read More


justin herbert fantasy football rankings NFL DFS lineup picks

Fantasy Football Injury Reports for QBs: Week 2 Updates for Dak Prescott, Justin Herbert, Jameis Winston, Mac Jones

Below you will find our updated fantasy football injuries report for quarterbacks in the days before Week 2 of the 2022 NFL season as of Friday, September 16. There are a few NFL QBs dealing with injuries, including Dak Prescott, Justin Herbert, Jameis Winston, and Mac Jones. Being up-to-date on NFL injury news can give... Read More


Trey Lance - Fantasy Football Rankings, Draft Sleepers, NFL Injury News

Key Starters and Tough Calls - Lineup Spotlights for Fantasy Football Week 2

Every week, I share some of my favored choices and players to go with when dealing with challenging lineup decisions. These selections are based on my Premium Weekly Lineup Rankings, available as part of the RotoBaller NFL Premium Pass. Enter promo code KING at checkout for a discount and get access to my ranks in all formats, plus... Read More


Saquon Barkley - Fantasy Football Rankings, NFL Injury News, Draft Sleepers

Week 2 NFL Pick Em Selections for No House Advantage

Hello everybody and welcome! The 2022 NFL season is underway and that means our friends over at No House Advantage have a TON of great DFS plays we can look to take advantage of. No House Advantage is a unique DFS prop picks site where you do not have to play against the house to... Read More


Wide Receiver Matchups to Target in Week 2: Greg Dortch, Terry McLaurin, Christian Kirk

Week 1 made some things come to light as we got some clarity on some murky situations. Unfortunately, many of our WR targets for DFS last week were victims of this. Robert Woods finished the game with one reception for 13 yards, as the Titans used the rookie receivers much more than him. Brandon Aiyuk... Read More


Carson Wentz - Fantasy Football Rankings, Waiver Wire Pickups, Draft Sleepers

Thunder Dan's NFL Betting Picks for Week 2: Top NFL Player Props Bets

Football season is back! Whether you like to bet game totals, sides, or player props, I have something in here for you, and try to cover a little bit of everything! This year, I started my own free sports betting newsletter, and the good people here at RotoBaller are allowing me to share my picks... Read More


Fantasy Football IDP Injury Reports For NFL Defensive Players: Week 2 Updates for T.J. Watt, Jamal Adams, Jalen Thompson, Ed Oliver

T.J. Watt owners, you know the feeling... I had T.J. Watt in my home league last season. He was constantly checking out of games early with nagging minor injuries, but he must have led every IDP manager who started him to the playoffs. I went back to the well and drafted him early this year.... Read More