NFC South Preview: Falcons

won the m v P last year. He was quarterback two on the Player Raider. This guy through forty four yards, thirty eight touchdowns and only seven interceptions. Okay, he was awesome. I mean he won the m v P. A lot of people, however, credit this to what Shanahan was able to do with Matt Ryan. In years past, Matt Ryan was a guy who would start hot and then at the end of the season kind of fade. I remember last year in the football season, even telling you that

I thought Matt Ryan would fade. He put it in my eye because he sustained his excellence all season long and ultimately won the MVP Award. But I don't know. I don't know if that's going to continue this year. You know, I feel like there's been a couple of, you know, a couple of things around Matt Ryan. He's been like the poster child for kind of like, you know, not watching the film and putting it away. I don't know how this team is going to bounce back in adversity.

And what I will also say, and if you listen to Fantasy Freestyle, you've heard me say this time and time again, he will not be a quarterback on any of my teams. Why Because I Am not using the draft capital that it takes to get one of these top five quarterbacks. Okay, I'm not gonna spend my second round pick, my third round pick, my fourth round pick on a quarterback. And by the time I'm looking to get a quarterback, whether that's in rounds eight or nine

or even seven, Matt Ryan won't be on the board anymore. Okay, So he's not gonna be on any of my teams. Is he probably gonna be a top five kind of quarterback? Maybe? But I think there is some regression. And so, Chris, if you want to know the truth, we're doing. Last week, we did hashtag sleep a week. This week, it's like hashtag busts. Right. He is actually my hashtag bust for this team, the Atlanta Falcons, because people are gonna pay

up to try to get Matt Ryan. I think he'll have a great year, but I don't think it's gonna be the m v P again. I think he's gonna regress. So that makes him my hashtag bus. But here on the fantasy Freestyle, you know what we call that, right, Chris, we call that what is means phony. You need to forget about it because he's gonna be going pretty high. I do have him ranked ultimately as my fifth highest quarterback. Corey Parson, the Fantasy executive, is hardcore fading Matt Ryan.

He has them all the way down at QB ten. Let me tell you something, if nine other teams have drafted their quarterback and Matt Ryan is still available, then you can go out and get him. Okay, but I think, um, he will not return the value that you expect this year. As we moved to the running back position, Listen, Davante Freeman is a beast. He was running back six last year, and I think his contract extension that they're talking about

is well deserved. My man had over fifteen hundred combined yard, thirteen combined touchdowns with over fifty receptions. I like this guy a lot. I think, if you're sitting at the back of round one and Freeman is available, snatch him up and take it to the bank. This is the guy they use in the red zone. They used DeVonta Freeman. I think DeVonta Freeman, even though Tevin Coleman is there, I think DeVonta Freeman is a locked and loaded RB one. I have him as my sixth ranked running back in

all of fantasy this year. I think he's a great bet to stay consistent. But here's the thing. So is Tevin Coleman. Tevin Coleman, in my opinion, is the best number two running back in the NFL. I think when you look at all these committees, I think Tevin Coleman is the best committee member or number two back in the NFL. This guy, he also you know, he had a combined like nine yards. He had five hundred twenty on the ground, four twenty in the air, like eleven

touchdowns him self combined. And he did that in thirteen games. Remember he had that sickle cell issue. I think he is the strongest handcuff in the league. I think he's viable regardless. Okay, I have him ranked as my eighteenth running back and Corey Parks and the Fantasy executive has him at nineteen, So I think there's definitely fantasy goodness. Now, remember this is a productive offense. They had over five

hundred points last year. So all these guys were talking about Matt Ryan, Tevin Coleman, Davonte Freeman, all of them are viable. Okay, wide receiver position, Okay, listen, Julio Jones. He's good. He's good at football. Okay, he's very good at football. In fact, I would tell you that I think he has the best skill of any wide receiver in the National Football League. If I needed to take one wide receiver and you told me that they would

be healthy all sixteen games, I'll take Julio Jones. You can have Antonio Brown, you could have Oldell Beckham, you could have Mike Evans, you can have Jordy Nelson, you could have a J. Green. I am taking Julio Jones. I think he is, you know, pound for pounds, skill for skill, the best wide receiver in the National Football League. And remember he had surgery earlier in the off season, but they call it minor to remove a bunyon. My only issue is that he is a little bit injury

or prone, and it is with that foot. Remember he had things like the Jones fracture of the Liz the Liz Frank that sort of issue, and that is something that can linger. That is something that it takes a long time to recover. Four um so if and he's gonna be a first round pick. So if you want to, uh, you know, roll the dice and think he'll play all six team games, I completely endorse him as the top

wide receiver on the board. But remember the Atlanta Falcons are such a productive offense and they will probably be one of the top offenses again this year that their second and third wide receiver has become viable as well. I said the same thing where we're talking about the Green Bay Packers. Remember it's not only Jordy Nelson, but it's also Davante Adams, It's also Randall Cobb. So in

this situation, it's not only Julio Jones. In this case, it's also Muhammed Snow and it's also Tyler Gabriel Okay, Snow is gonna be more that PPR guy. He's gonna be more the guys that gets receptions. He's gonna be a guy. You know. He had six hundred thirty five six d fifty three yards last year. I think he's a viable wide receiver three even to have on your team or flex play. Same could be said with Taylor Gabriel.

Gabriel is a kind of guy who's gonna be more the big play threat or the guy who can catch up and underneath and take it to the house. But um, he's also viable. So is their tight end Austin Hooper. There's actually been a lot of hype around Hooper. Okay, he's supposedly worked with Matt Ryan in the off season, and I think that because of this offense, there is enough production to go around. Remember how much Matt Ryan

loved having Tony Gonzalez as his tight end. I'm telling you right now, Austin Hooper is my hashtag sleeper week on this show. We call him a diamond in the rough. Last year, he had only nineteen catches, two ord just seventy one yards and three touchdowns. I think it's possible for him to get fifty five undred fifty yards, maybe six or seven touchdowns. I think it's possible, so does Mike Clay who does his projections as well. A lot

of people are high on Austin Hooper. So if you're gonna wait at tight end and knock at the Olsens, the Reeds, the Gronks, okay, I think a viable thing is to wait and potentially get Austin Hooper as a deep sleeper who could return interesting value. Remember in an offense that led the NFL and points scored last year and nothing nothing. Julio Jones is their big ex receiver, but guys like Gabriel, guys like Snow those are more underneath guys whom in the red zone he may look

for Austin Hooper. I like Austin Hooper as a deep, deep sleeper. When you also look at their schedule, I think their schedule is very interesting. The Atlanta Falcons, they play the a f C East as their a f C division they play, but they play all four of those teams in a row weeks fourth rate early in the season, along with a little bye weekend there they

gotta early by week five. I don't like that, actually, I think when you have guys like Julio Jones who may need that blow later in the season and a week off to rest and ankle or a foot, I don't think an early buy suits them that well. Um, they're also it's interesting they you know, they're play in the dome after week eleven, which is pretty much like November. They only have one game where they play outside after week eleven. All but two of their games are at home.

Week sixteen, which by the way, is the fantasy championship in most leagues. They are at New Orleans in another dome, and boy, when the Falcons and Saints get together, they light up the scoreboard. So if you're positioning yourself for a championship run, take note. Falcons at Saints Week sixteen is a week that's gonna have a ton of fantasy goodness in the Dome. Their only road game that they're outside after week eleven of the season is a game in week fifteen where they're at Tampa Bay on the

long grass there in Tampa. Okay, one other thing I will say, though, you know how I like to fade the public and uh, last year on the Fantasy Freestyle or shot callers, I talked about the trap game. I think the Falcons opener it's potentially a trap game. They go on the road to UH Chicago to take on the Bears, and everyone thinks the Bears are gonna win only a few games this year. Everyone thinks the Falcons are primed to repeat and go to the Super Bowl again.

Watch that on the road. I can see right away week one the Falcons involved in a trap game. But we shall see right that's why. That's why they play the greames. As one famous broadcaster used to say, like I said, though the poll has them at nine and

a half, is they're over under right now? A lot of you guys are fans of the Falcons, forty seven percent of you, And thanks to everybody who's voting at F and T, s Y radio, at Spit and Speed, you could always ask me questions, you could always follow me. Percent of you right now will take the over on that line. So many people think the Falcons will win double digits. Only a third of you, thirty three percent

say the under say, actually, that's a good line. I see them as about a nine or ten win team. So I would not make that bet I did. I mentioned my man Gabe Morancy, who follow as us here on the fantasy sports radio network Red Heat and Rage every night at a PM. Gabe has responded back. He says he thinks the Falcons are going back to the super Bowl. I don't know about that. I do not think that the Falcons will return to the super Bowl.

There's some other teams I like in the NFC. I told you about Green Bay, I told you about Seattle. I also got a surprise team in the NFC East when we get to them. But um, Gabe certainly has high expectations for the Falcons. I think there will be some regression. I want to bring in my man, the bounty hunter. Hey, Chris, how do we feel about the Atlanta Falcons? They're over under for their win total is nine and a half. Would you be more likely to make this bet? And if you do, which side do

you lean over or under? I'm definitely going over on this. Really, you're a big fan of the Falcons. Well, you know what, It's not just a biased thing for me, I do. I consider the Falcons one of my favorite NFL teams outside of the New York John Dirty Birds. The Dirty Birds. They've always been that was my peewee football team. So I have nothing. It's it's all sentimental for me. That being said, I do love this Falcons team. I don't

think there's gonna be necessarily a super Bowl hangover. If anything, I think they're angrier and hungrier just to get back. I think Matt Ryan, I think you're right, Matt Ryan maybe top ten. I don't think he's m v P. I think the m v P of this team this year is running back DeVonta Freeman. Yeah, running back DeVonta Freeman is going very high. He is a first round pick. In my estimation, I have him is running back five or six UM. But I also think Tevin Coleman is viable.

That is a backfield a committee where both guys can be productive. That is how dynamic this offense is.