When to Target the Atlanta Falcons in Fantasy Drafts

WR Taylor Gabriel  

Round 12; Projection – 564 receiving yards, 5 receiving touchdowns, 87 rushing yards, 1 rushing touchdown: 95.1 fantasy points

Gabriel came out of nowhere to help some fantasy teams push toward the playoffs last year. He shockingly ended the season with more touchdowns than Julio Jones.

Gabriel is worth a late round flier and bench stash in 12-team leagues. He’s a boom or bust type player, as he will score a few long touchdowns this season. So he could serve as a lethal bye week fill-in for a fantasy player lucky enough to play him on one of his “boom” weeks.

The flashy plays are exciting but make no mistake about it, Gabriel is too far down in the Falcons’ receiving hierarchy to warrant a draft selection before the late rounds. Even if one of the receivers ahead of him on the depth chart goes down, Matt Ryan will spread the ball around too much to give Gabriel any real upside as anything more than a flex play.

K Matt Bryant – Round 13; Projection – 51 PATs, 10 FGs 20-29, 6 FGs 30-39, 10 FGs 40-49, 5 FGs 50+: 154.0 fantasy points

The kicker position is often underappreciated in fantasy football as well as real life. The consistent 9+ points from a reliable fantasy kicker on a prolific offense is often one of the mainstays of a championship winning fantasy football team.

Last season, Matt Bryant rode the wave of Atlanta’s number 1 scoring offense to become the number 1 scoring kicker in fantasy football. He was another waiver wire gem who helped some teams in their playoff runs.

Next: Atlanta Falcons: Breakout candidate Ra’Shede Hageman

Bryant should once again be a top 3 fantasy player at his position with how good Atlanta’s offense will be in 2017. Normally it’s best to wait until one of the last two rounds to take your kicker but getting a kicker who will most likely be top 3 at the position a round earlier than that is just fine.