The Atlanta Falcons have been slowly revamping their passing attack for the last couple of seasons. In 2015 they picked up Leonard Hankerson to help fill the number three wide receiver slot. Hankerson was a bust, and Devin Hester was injured for most of the season.
This means one of their younger wide receivers Justin Hardy would have to step up in several games throughout the 2015 regular season. Now that the Falcons have released Roddy White and Hankerson there is a deep hole at the wide receiver position. The Falcons hope that Mohamed Sanu can fill their need.
The former Cincinnati Bengal carried the load as a number one wide receiver in 2014 when A.J. Green had a particularly injury-prone season. Sanu caught 56 passes, recorded 790 yards and had 5 touchdowns and that somewhat solidified his status as a top-tier number two receiver.
Since then Marvin Jones has been healthier and played a whole season in which he got the start over Sanu. In fact in 2015 Sanu only started in four games compared to 13 in 2014. The Falcons will get a 6-foot-2-inch big-bodied wide receiver who can create space and move the chains.
Entering his fifth season in the NFL Sanu will now play next to the Falcons' star wide receiver Julio Jones who should earn double or triple coverage most of the time. This should open up a bigger role for Sanu as he will look to take some of the pressure off quarterback Matt Ryan.
Ryan is coming off a particularly brutal season when he barely connected with anyone other than Jones. Ryan looked confused and hesitant for most of the 2015 season. The most notable thing about Ryan's season with the Falcons was his low touchdown-to-interception ratio (21-16).
Ryan typically averages at least 25 touchdowns a season, however he just didn't have the extra receiving talent to get a few more touchdowns. Now the Falcons hope that Sanu can become a dominant second option for Ryan as the 2016 season approaches.
