A look at how Atlanta Falcons wide receivers Julio Jones, Mohamed Sanu, and Justin Hardy will fare this season:
Julio Jones
ESPN Fantasy Projection: 126 receptions, 1,752 yards, 7 touchdowns
Over or under: I'll go under on the receptions because Jones has new complementary receivers around him in Sanu and rookie tight end Austin Hooper, along with returning players Jacob Tamme and Hardy. Not to mention the Falcons have a pretty dynamic pass-catching running back in Devonta Freeman. But that being said, I still think Jones has a chance to have more receiving yards and possibly even reach 2,000 based on talk of Matt Ryan throwing more deep balls this season. Jones, who had 1,871 receiving yards last season, could have reached 2K last season had the Falcons gone deep more often. Calvin Johnson holds the NFL single-season record with 1,976 receiving yards, and he did it on 122 catches. Why can't Jones do the same? I'll go over on the touchdowns and say Jones will reach or surpass his career single-season high of 10 touchdowns set in 2012 because defenses will have to play him more honest, considering the other targets on the field. Plus, the Falcons have been working on that fade route to Jones, something missing from the red-zone arsenal last season.
Mohamed Sanu
ESPN Fantasy Projection: 57 receptions, 676 yards, 4 touchdowns
Over or under: It's reasonable to believe Sanu will surpass his career high of 56 receptions considering he was brought in to be the No. 2 receiver behind Jones. Sanu is good at establishing separation out of the slot and should be able to win his share of 1-on-1 battles. Last year's second-leading receiver, Freeman, had 73 catches, while Tamme was third with 59. In terms of yards, Sanu averaged 14.1 yards per catch during his best season, so between 650-800 yards sounds like a good estimate. If Jones continues to draw added attention in the red zone, I could see Sanu stepping up and padding his touchdown totals. And you'll see some exotic touchdown dances in the process.
Justin Hardy
ESPN Fantasy Projection: 42 receptions, 405 yards, 2 touchdowns
Over or under: Hardy is a tough receiver who can catch the ball well and runs solid routes. The Falcons continue to praise his development, so there's no reason not to believe he won't double his production from last season (21 catches, 194 yards) as the third receiver. Remember, he was inactive for the first seven games of last season. So, I'll go over on the catches, yards, and touchdowns.
Who else could see time: If Aldrick Robinson makes the team, the speedy fourth receiver could be a deep threat for Ryan, like Robinson showed during training camp and in the first preseason game. But his spot is not guaranteed.
