Atlanta Falcons what to expect from Hayden Hurst this season

Since the Atlanta Falcons drafted tight-end Kyle Pitts last year’s starter, Hayden Hurst has rarely been talked about in the Atlanta offense.

Though he may no longer be the starter, Hurst is still going to be an elite weapon for the Atlanta Falcons this season.

Watching the Atlanta Falcons last season Hayden Hurst was one of the very few bright spots. Coming over from the Ravens Hurst caught 56-passes for 571-receiving yards with six touchdowns on the season.

Hayden Hurst is one of the Atlanta Falcons best weapons

This is outstanding production and Hurst will not only match it but exceed it this season. While Pitts is likely to be the starter from day one Hurst is one of Atlanta’s best remaining weapons.

Calvin Ridley, Russell Gage, Kyle Pitts, and Hayden Hurst are certainly Atlanta’s four best options and I believe we will see Hurst and Pitts on the field together with consistency; don’t expect it to be a traditional two-tight end package considering Pitt’s skill set. Hurst is still the third-best option on this team and is going to get a lot of chances this season.

He will match last year’s production and offer Atlanta another big red zone target alongside Pitts.  In his second season with Matt Ryan, expect Hurst to finish the season with over 650-receiving yards and seven touchdowns.

A slight bump in production should be expected considering Julio Jones is now gone and this Atlanta defense appears to have gotten even less talented. Meaning Atlanta is going to be throwing the ball just as much if not more this season.

Don’t get me wrong, Hurst is the third option behind Ridley and Pitts but we have seen in seasons past Ryan’s ability to spread the ball. There is also the fact that all the attention and double teams opposing defenses schemed for Julio Jones will now be focused squarely on Calvin Ridley giving other players the chance to step up their production.

Hayden Hurst if healthy is going to have a great season for the Falcons and give their offense a much-needed third option in their new offense.