Atlanta Falcons: Five positions that need addressing in draft

3) Wide receiver

The Atlanta Falcons have been known in recent years as a team that throws the ball around a lot more often than they run and that stood to be true from 2012-2014.

However, in 2015 the Falcons’ were finally able to get a solid running game going with the help of Devonta Freeman and didn’t pass the ball as much as they have been.

Julio Jones led the NFL in receiving with 1,871 yards good enough second all-time in a regular season. While Jones was nearly unstoppable in 2015, no other Falcons receiver was able to do anything.

The Falcons’ second leading receiver was tight end Jacob Tamme and their third leading receiver was Freeman.

Where was Roddy White you ask? White was fourth on the receiving charts after catching just 43 passes for 506 yard and one touchdown.

It appears that White’s days of catching 80 passes and making big plays for a franchise that he has spent his entire career for are over. Some are even saying that White might get cut if he isn’t willing to re-negotiate his contract and clear up more money to sign other players.

Leonard Hankerson was signed before the start of the 2015 season and started off the season great, but dropped passes and several injuries led him being placed on injured reserve and was later cut before the season was even over.

The Falcons are in dire need of a receiver that can complement Jones and take some of the weight off of his shoulders. While Jones may not appear to be human, his is and won’t be able to sustain 1800-yard seasons forever.

The draft features some very good receivers and the odds that the Falcons draft one of them are pretty high. Atlanta could choose to sign a free agent receiver and if that happens then the team will likely avoid drafting one.

But for now, this is clearly a position that the team needs to address moving forward.