Fantasy Football Player Notes
2020 Draft Rankings
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11.
Julio Jones
WR - (at TB)
You'd have to go all the way back to 2013 to find the last time Julio Jones didnt finish as a top-8 wide receiver in fantasy football, and the only reason he didn't was due to injury (he was the No. 3 wide receiver in points per game that year). Keep in mind he's done all that without scoring a lot of touchdowns. Sure, the Falcons have Calvin Ridley making his way into a bigger role, but you simply cannot find a safer option to finish inside the top-10 every single year.
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36.
Todd Gurley
RB - (at TB)
The Rams offense was in complete disarray last year, as their offensive line started to crumble, which dragged Gurley's efficiency down the drain. He did show that he's still able to handle a big workload down the stretch, finishing with 98 touches over the final five games. Now going to the Falcons, who have one of the better offensive lines in football, with little competition, Gurley could return to RB1 status. It's a high-scoring offense where the running backs have averaged 1,383 yards and 9.7 touchdowns on the ground, while averaging another 572 yards and 4.7 touchdowns through the air over the last three years. With Ito Smith and Brian Hill the only running backs behind him, Gurley should receive most of the work/production.
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37.
Calvin Ridley
WR - (at TB)
Prior to getting hurt and having his season cut short, Ridley was on pace for 1,066 yards and eight touchdowns in 2019, which would have had him as the WR14. Now going into his third NFL season, there's a real chance for a breakout, though Julio Jones isn't going away any time soon. If you want to know if there's room for both to be WR1s, look no further than the Bucs last year with Mike Evans and Chris Godwin, though it's rare for that to happen. Still, Ridley is an ascending talent and the Falcons didn't add a receiver of significance to replace Mohamed Sanu.
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74.
Matt Ryan
QB - (at TB)
Ryan is the definition of consistency in fantasy football. He's not going to win you your fantasy championship, but he's the type of quarterback you can set-it-and-forget-it most of the time. There was just one quarterback who busted (less than 14 fantasy points) less often than him, and that quarterback (Lamar Jackson) is going in the top three rounds. If you want to wait until the middle rounds to snag Ryan, that's been a solid plan the last handful of years.
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106.
Hayden Hurst
TE - (at TB)
Opportunity means everything to a tight end and Hurst is going to walk into plenty of it. The Falcons have used their tight end quite heavily over the last couple years and they really didn't replace Mohamed Sanu. Instead of trying to re-sign Austin Hooper, they decided it'd be better to trade a second-round pick for Hurst, showing just how much they valued him. Don't think he's not talented just because he played behind Mark Andrews. He should see 80-plus targets in 2020 en route to a top-12 finish.
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247.
Ito Smith
RB - (at TB)
Some are automatically assuming that Smith is the handcuff to Todd Gurley, but I wouldn't be so sure. The Falcons were talking about benching Smith prior to him getting injured last year. It's not like Brian Hill did a lot to change their mind, but it's likely they'd split the carries among them.
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258.
Russell Gage
WR - (at TB)
I'll be the first to say that I expected Gage to be replaced this offseason, but he is apparently the Falcons replacement for Mohamed Sanu in 2020. He filled in quite a bit last year, totaling 68 targets over the final nine games. Injuries to Calvin Ridley and Austin Hooper certainly didn't hurt his cause, but he's going to have a role no matter what. Think of him as a Hunter Renfrow-type.
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259.
Younghoe Koo
K - (at TB)
Although Koo's 2019 season will be remembered primarily for his three successful onside kicks in Week 14 against the Saints, he actually had a pretty dominant year for the Falcons. Despite playing just eight games, he had 26 field-goal attempts, converting 23 of them. Back with the Falcons and kicking indoors, Koo should easily finish as a top-12 kicker this season if he can again hit 88.5% of his field-goal attempts.
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290.
Brian Hill
RB - (at TB)
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296.
Atlanta Falcons
DST - (at TB)
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340.
Qadree Ollison
RB - (at TB)
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473.
Laquon Treadwell
WR - (at TB)
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491.
Olamide Zaccheaus
WR - (at TB)
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492.
Jaeden Graham
TE - (at TB)
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528.
Christian Blake
WR - (at TB)
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