Atlanta Falcons Roster 2018 Falcons Roster

There isn’t much turnover for Atlanta this season, as they still feature one of the best running back duos in football. This will likely be the last year we see them have both Tevin Coleman and Devonta Freeman as Coleman is set to become a free agent. At 33 years old, Matt Ryan is still going strong and has Matt Schaub backing him up if anything was to happen. Julio Jones has another Alabama wideout with him now. Calvin Ridley was drafted late in the first round, and will look to make a push in this offense. Mohamed Sanu is still in the picture, but Taylor Gabriel is in Chicago. Atlanta looked to build more upon the defensive side, which is easy to see with their mix of offensive talent. Austin Hooper is in his third year, and if he can build upon his snaps from last season there is some production available.

Falcons Build Through the Draft

After blowing an easy victory in Super Bowl LI, the Atlanta Falcons entered the 2017 season on a mission to make up for their mistakes. A late season run put the team in position to accomplish their goal, but they eventually fell to the Philadelphia Eagles in the second round of the playoffs. Most teams would go out and get a game-changing player after narrowing missing a championship two straight years, but the Falcons had no room under the salary cap to make a big move.

The Atlanta offense lacked explosiveness last season without Kyle Shanahan calling the plays. It takes a long time to fully learn a new offensive system, so the Falcons should have a much easier time moving the ball on a consistent basis in 2018. Julio Jones and Devonta Freeman are simply two of the most explosive skill players in the game right now. They are both a threat to score every time they touch the ball.

The only major change to the Atlanta offense came at the wide receiver position. Calvin Ridley replaced Taylor Gabriel as the team's third receiver. It often takes rookie receivers a few years to get acclimated to the NFL, but Ridley play in a pro-style offense for three years at Alabama. This should make it much easier for him to dominate early in the season. If the team is not hamstrung by poor play calling, then the Falcons will once again have one of the highest scoring offenses in the NFL this year. Defense has never been one of the strong points of the Atlanta Falcons, but the unit will be a huge question mark in the upcoming season. Adrian Clayborn was a dominant force as an edge pass rusher for Atlanta for the last three seasons, but he is now playing with the New England Patriots. Since they did not find an adequate replacement for Clayborn, the Falcons may have a lot of trouble pressuring the opposing quarterback. Atlanta has a great secondary, but it is virtually impossible to cover NFL receivers without an adequate pass rush. Since the offense is going to score a lot of points, the success of the Atlanta Falcons in 2018 will ultimately come down to the performance of their defense. If they can limit opponents to less than 25 points a game, then the Falcons will easily win the NFC South division.

Fantasy Risers/Fallers

Atlanta's new offensive coordinator Steve Sarkisian was far too conservative with his play calling early in the 2017 season. This caused Matt Ryan and the rest of the offense to struggle moving the ball down the field on a consistent basis. Everything started to click late in the season as the players and coaches got comfortable with the new system. Matt Ryan looks poised to regain his spot as a premiere fantasy football quarterback in 2018, but he is still being selected as a backup in most drafts.

Austin Hooper has shown flashes of brilliance in his young NFL career, but he has been far too inconsistent to be a reliable fantasy option. Hooper was set to become a bigger part of the Atlanta offense after Taylor Gabriel signed with the Chicago Bears, but that was before the Falcons used their top draft pick to select wide receiver Calvin Ridley. The team also signed Logan Paulsen to split time with Hooper at the tight end position. Since Austin Hooper is set to be the fourth or fifth option in the passing game, he can be ignored in most upcoming fantasy drafts.