A majority of sportsbooks say that the Atlanta Falcons are slated to win six games, lose 11 in 2022 and finish last in the NFC South. This makes sense for the most part as they are going through some growing pains as they rebuild a little. This offseason, they traded Matt Ryan to the Indianapolis Colts, lost Calvin Ridley to a gambling suspension, and lost Russell Gage in free agency to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. This begs the question, what does this mean for fantasy football? Let us take a look.

QB – Marcus Mariota

After what many thought would be an interesting QB battle during training camp, including myself, the Atlanta Falcons ultimately made the quick decision to name Marcus Mariota as their starting QB over rookie Desmond Ridder. While Mariota has proved to be only an average starting QB, coming into 2022 with a .500 record as a starter in both the regular season and the playoffs, he provides slight rushing upside and can easily lead a WR or TE to a top finish, as he did with Delanie Walker in his Tennessee days back in 2015 and 2016. Mariota is currently my QB30, and the chance that he flounders and Ridder steps in, is roughly 15%.

RB – Cordarrelle Patterson and Tyler Allgeier

The RB room in Atlanta is fun to watch play out in real life, but it is very messy and a bit of a crapshoot for fantasy football. The Falcons drafted Tyler Allgeier in the 2022 NFL draft, signed Chiefs playoff legend Damien Williams during free agency, and still have Cordarrelle Patterson, who broke out in a massive way as a high-powered offensive gadget and sturdy role player. While Patterson was great in 2021, I do not see the Falcons giving as many snaps to him. He is getting up there in age for an RB/WR, Marcus Mariota is far different from Matt Ryan, and we cannot just ignore the rookie who has looked decent enough in preseason action.

I would certainly not be drafting Patterson if he was solely a running back, but because he is likely going to be running a good chunk of routes from both the backfield and either side of the hash marks, I am fine with taking a shot on him. With Allgeier, I am willing to take him with the last pick of the draft or keep a close eye on the waiver wire for him. Patterson is currently my RB35, and Allgeier is my RB48.

WR – Drake London, Cordarrelle Patterson

The WR room, which contains rookie Drake London and… well, that’s actually about it. Sure, they also have Bryan Edwards and Olamide Zaccheaus, but those two will not be contributing to the Falcons’ fantasy landscape. The only other NFL team with as dismal of a WR core as the Falcons is the Bears. London got banged up during his first preseason game and has not practiced since, but should be ready for the regular season. He will share targets with TE sensation Kyle Pitts and fellow RB/WR Cordarrelle Patterson, but he has the size, strength, and great jump ball ability to have tremendous TD upside and fantasy finish as a rookie. Over 50% of the teams’ abandoned targets need to go to someone. At least one rookie WR has finished as a WR24 or better in nine straight years. Why should Drake London not be the player to do it?

TE – Kyle Pitts

Kyle Pitts has the chance to finish as the TE1 on the season, and it is like some of you do not even care. I think we forget to realize that he only scored four TDs during his first season. With Mariota as his QB and a lot less attention on his routes with London on the field, he could easily surpass the recent success of Mark Andrews and Travis Kelce. I even think he is a considerable longshot for the overall triple crown. The key thing to remember here is actually stats from former NFL TE Delanie Walker. During his time with Mariota under center, he racked up 233 receptions, 2,695 receiving yards, and 16 touchdowns in just three seasons. Kyle Pitts is an automatic draft pick in round three of your drafts, as he is my TE3. Do not miss out on his upside!

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