Fantasy Outlook: Atlanta Falcons

Photo Credit: CURTIS COMPTON / CCOMPTON@AJC.COM

In a couple weeks from now, every team will be in training camp preparing for the start of a new NFL season. With every new season comes new hope, whether it’s for a brighter future or a championship. It also means you have to start preparing for your fantasy football season. If you start preparing now then you can get ahead of the rest of your league.

The Atlanta Falcons had a rough season in 2013. I think they vastly under performed, both in fantasy and in the actual NFL. Atlanta should be able to begin the climb back into there winning ways this season. Quarterback Matt Ryan will have a healthy receiving corps and an improved offensive line. The Atlanta Falcons could be completely undervalued in fantasy this season, which could make for some great draft steals.

All rankings for this article are used from our Fantasy Football Draft Kit.

NFC South Fantasy Outlooks:

|Atlanta Falcons|Carolina Panthers|New Orleans Saints|Tampa Bay Buccaneers|

Best Fantasy Player: Matt Ryan

A year ago, Matt Ryan was viewed as a top ten fantasy quarterback and an up and coming player in the league. Everyone expect him to make huge strides toward getting the Falcons closer to the Super Bowl. However, everything went wrong for Matt Ryan. He lost his top WR, Julio Jones, and dealt with a terrible offensive line all year. With a healthy Julio Jones and improvements made on the offensive line, like drafting Jake Matthews and signing Jon Asamoah, Matt Ryan could return to his 2012 form. I think Ryan, and the Falcons as a whole, will improve a lot in 2014. Matt Ryan has top ten fantasy quarterback potential while also being a great QB2 option.

Rank: 104 (QB14)

Fantasy Impact Player: Julio Jones

Julio Jones was on his way to having a record breaking season, the only thing that could stop him would be an awful injury. That’s exactly what happened. Julio Jones fractured his foot, ending his season. Jones is currently taking things slow; he didn’t participate in Atlanta’s mini camps. The expectation is that Jones will be one hundred percent for Week 1. If Jones is, expect him to pick up where he left off last season.

Rank: 26 (WR9)

Fantasy Impact Player: Roddy White

Roddy White finsihed strong after a season plagued with injuries. White, also, sat out of mini camp to give himself some extra rest. White will be ready for training camp. At 32, White may have entered his decline last season. Although he can improve on last year, I don’t think White will return to his 2012 form. White should be a great  fantasy back up WR and possibly a solid WR2.

Rank: 52 (WR21)

Fantasy Sleeper: Levine Toilolo

Levine Toilolo is a true fantasy sleeper. During his rookie season, Toilolo only caught 11 passes (2 for touchdowns). To be fair, he was overshadowed by TE legend Tony Gonzalez. With Gonzalez retiring, Atlanta’s TE position is wide open and Toilolo is the front runner for the starting gig. Toilolo’s huge 6’8 frame will make him a giant redzone target for Matt Ryan and co. Toilolo may be worth a late round pick or an early season waiver wire pick up.

Rank: N/A (did not make the top 200)

Pretenders or Contenders: Atlanta Falcons

PHOTO CREDIT: CURTIS COMPTON / CCOMPTON@AJC.COM

Over the next few weeks, I’ll be analyzing all 32 teams and telling you why they will or won’t be playing in January.

One of the toughest teams to analyze has to be the Atlanta Falcons. Over the last six years the Falcons have posted just one losing season, with four playoff appearances. However, the Falcons are just 1-4 in the playoffs they were viewed as perennial contenders and a NFC superpower up until this year.

My biggest concern with this team is we don’t know what team is going to show up. We could very easily see the 2008-2012 Falcons who could contend with anyone, or we can see this years version of the team who other than Matt Ryan, couldn’t seem to get anything done.

Offensively the Falcons should be able to score points with a top tier quarterback, and a duo of top receivers. The only thing different this year is who is playing tight end, and can Steven Jackson actually replace Michael Turner after failing to do so last year. The Falcons suffered some major injuries last year in Julio Jones missing more than half of the season and with Roddy White and Jackson being banged up for a decent portion of the year this offense never seemed to get going.

However three skill players were not the biggest difference for this team. Through Ryans career he has never been sacked more than 28 times before 2013 in which he was sacked a whopping 44 times. Their GM Thomas Dimitroff did take action trying to prevent this from happening again by drafted one of the most polished offensive lineman in the draft in Jake Matthews.

During Matthews college career he was forced to block for a sandlot style QB in Johnny Manziel so he should have no problem protecting a less erratic QB in Ryan. I would say realistically the team should be able to lower its sacks allowed to the 25-30 range, If this happens and the all of the talent around Ryan stays upright this team could easily post 24-31 points a game.

However that might not be enough to win more than 8 games if the defense doesn’t improve. After ranking 27th in points allowed a year ago there should not be much optimism for this group. There were some impact rookies last year in Desmond Trufant and Paul Worillow but they are not at the stages of their careers respectively where they can handle carrying a defense.

The Falcons are counting on Tyson Jackson and Paul Soliai to be impact players just months after signing them off the street. The problem with free agency is there is a reason the player is no longer being sought after by their former team, whether it be monetary, attitude or play related. This is why we see year after year players who are projected to be excellent fall flat on their face with horrible seasons. I would be safe by saying if one of these players does not play up to expectations the defensive line for the Falcons will be in the lower tier once again.

All in all I see the Falcons missing the playoffs again this year.. There are far to many question marks with not enough clear answers. I feel a 7-9 to 8-8 season is the best case scenario for a team that suddenly sees itself in transition.