Falcons TE Jonnu Smith hauled 5 of 6 targets for a team-high 100 receiving yards in Week 9 vs. the Vikings. Most of that production game on a 60-yard TD on a screen pass in the third quarter. Sunday was the first time he out-targeted teammate Kyle Pitts over the past four games. Pitts was fine (4 catches, 56 yards), though it’s disappointing that he didn’t see a more significant role without WR Drake London (groin) in the lineup. The duo of Smith and Pitts rank as the TE14 and 17 in PPR points per game, respectively. Both are relatively decent lineup options, though the frustrating nature of HC Arthur Smith’s offense makes them hard to count on for consistency. Their prospects won’t be any easier for the rest of the season, either. The Falcons’ remaining schedule ranks as the ninth-toughest for TEs per our adjusted fantasy points allowed.
Falcons WR Drake London (groin) is out for Sunday’s game vs. the Vikings. That leaves Atlanta with WRs Van Jefferson, KhaDarel Hodge, Mack Hollins, and Scotty Miller. Seriously. TEs Kyle Pitts and Jonnu Smith should draw more targets with London out. RBs Bijan Robinson and Cordarrelle Patterson could also play expanded roles in the passing game.
Falcons WR Drake London (groin) remained sidelined on Thursday. We'll see if he hits the field for Friday's practice, but fantasy owners should not be banking on London playing vs. the Vikings this weekend.
Falcons WR Drake London (groin) won't practice on Wednesday, HC Arthur Smith said. Smith added that they'll "see how the week goes" with London and that he's "got a chance" to play vs. the Vikings this weekend. We'll keep an eye on his progress over the next few days.
Falcons HC Arthur Smith announced Wednesday that QB Taylor Heinicke will start Sunday against the Vikings. It's not a shocking move after the team pulled QB Desmond Ridder from the Week 8 loss to the Titans. Ridder has largely struggled outside of a 329-yard passing effort in the Week 5 win over Houston. Since that game, he has tossed just 2 TD passes vs. 3 INTs across three contests, while also taking a sack on nearly 10% of dropbacks and losing 4 fumbles. Heinicke went an OK 12-of-21 (57.1%) for 175 yards (8.3 per attempt) after taking over against Tennessee. His 9.7 average target depth in that contest -- according to Pro Football Refernce -- was about 2 yards deeper than Ridder's season rate of 7.8. Pro Football Focus credits Heinicke with a career 8.8-yard average depth of target and 9.2-yard aDOT with the Commanders last season. Heinicke's career 63.7% completion rate comes in short of Ridder's (64.8%), and we've seen enough to know he won't bring consistent efficiency. But a daring downfield thrower could boost the fantasy production of Falcons WR Drake London and TE Kyle Pitts ... if Arthur Smith will allow the offense to exploit those skills. (And assuming London's groin injury doesn't linger, of course.) We're not significantly upgrading our outlooks for any Falcons offensive pieces on this switch. But a move away from Ridder at least allows for some optimism. We'll see whether London's able to play this week -- and then how Heinicke fares in his first Atlanta start. The Minnesota matchup looks fairly neutral for Falcons passing.
Falcons HC Arthur Smith said Monday that the groin WR Drake London suffered in Sunday's loss to the Titans "wasn't as bad as we thought," according to Tori McElhaney of the team website. Smith added that they'll watch London through the week, indicating he has at least a chance to play Sunday against the Vikings. We'll also keep an eye on London's status throughout the week ... and another on what Atlanta plans to do at QB.
Falcons WR Drake London hauled 5 of his team-high 7 targets for 55 receiving yards in Week 8’s loss vs. the Titans. TEs Kyle Pitts and Jonnu Smith struggled on Sunday, however, with a combined 4 catches and 48 yards between them. It’s fair to estimate that perhaps some of these struggles can be attributed to the Falcons going from QB Desmond Ridder to backup Taylor Heinicke midway through the game. Still, this was not a particularly strong performance from Atlanta’s aerial attack. Projecting these pass-catchers for their upcoming matchup against the Vikings will be tough to do until we know who will be under center in Week 9.
Falcons WR Drake London suffered a groin injury in the third quarter of Sunday's game vs. the Titans. He's officially questionable to return. We'll update London's status when we know more.
Congratulations if you started Falcons WR Drake London in your lineup. The second-year wideout exploded with 9 catches on 12 targets with a career-high 125 receiving yards in Week 6 vs. the Commanders. TE Kyle Pitts also had a strong outing, hauling 4 catches for 46 yards and a TD in the loss. Sunday marks the first time Pitts has recorded a TD since Week 8 of last season. TE Jonnu Smith again returned some solid fantasy production with a 4-36-1 receiving line. The Falcons’ offense has been frustrating for managers this season, though recent efforts from the past couple of weeks have helped to assuage some concerns. We’ll see if they can keep this up in Week 7 vs. the Buccaneers.
Falcons WR Drake London found the end zone in London vs. the Jaguars. Of course, his 3 catches on 7 targets for 28 receiving yards isn’t ideal, but the amusing nature of the TD and the fact that it helps fantasy managers counts all the same. In the most frustrating turn of events possible, TE Jonnu Smith led the team in receiving with 95 yards on all 6 of his targets. Fellow TE Kyle Pitts (2 catches, 41 yards) disappeared again in Week 4. It’s getting tough to hold out hope for him at this point. It’ll be tough to trust any of these pass-catchers, though a Week 5 matchup vs. the Texans makes their collective appeal a little nicer.
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