Mohamed Sanu embodies everything the Atlanta Falcons are about

The Atlanta Falcons boast one of the NFL’s most prolific offenses. Even in a down year with shaky play calling, they were among the Top 10 in nearly every offensive category.

When looking at the Atlanta Falcons offense, it is easy to get lost in all the shiny pieces. Matt Ryan is one of the elite quarterbacks in the league, Julio Jones is the best wide receiver, Calvin Ridley led all rookies with 10 touchdowns in 2018 and was among the Top 10 league wide, Austin Hooper had his first pro bowl season and when healthy, Devonta Freeman is one of the league’s best weapons out of the backfield.

To quote the great Dr. Dre – Forgot about Dre or in this case Mohamed Sanu. “Y’all know me, still the same O.G., but I been low-key”….that perfectly sums up Sanu. He is an afterthought on this Falcons offense and he should not be.

The eighth year pro out of Rutgers has been the forgotten player his entire career. In Cincinnati, he played second fiddle to A.J. Green. In 2014 when Green missed weeks 5, 6 & 7, Sanu stepped into that number one role and had a combined 18 catches for 299 yards. In 2016 when Julio missed back to back weeks for the Falcons, Sanu was targeted seven times that resulted in 6 catches and 100 yards.

During his career, Mohamed has never been the sexy pick, but he has been the guy to come to work every single day and leave everything that he has on the field. He has also been that guy to take the rookies under his wings and show them what it means to a professional. Simply put, he is a glue guy.

As a player who has never been among his team’s top two targets, he has been able to amass 382 touches, 4200 yards and 30 combined touchdowns, more than half of which has come during his three years with the Falcons. Catching, running or throwing, Sanu does it all.

While he may not be flash, he is all substance there will always be a need for that kind of player on teams that are contenders to take home the Lombardi trophy.