Falcons Fantasy Football Preview: Kirk Cousins, Bijan Robinson, Drake London, Darnell Mooney, Kyle Pitts and More

Breaking down the Atlanta Falcons best fantasy football players for the upcoming season.

Let’s go over another NFL team fantasy football preview.

We’ve looked at the Kansas City Chiefs, San Francisco 49ers, New York Jets, Los Angeles Rams, Buffalo Bills, Chicago Bears, Pittsburgh Steelers, Detroit Lions, Tennessee Titans, Carolina Panthers and Baltimore Ravens and now will be talking about the Atlanta Falcons.

Check back soon for more team previews. Of course, things will change between now and the start of the season, and FantasySP will cover any major changes when those happen.

Get ready for draft season! Practice Mock Drafts, check out ADPs and get advice for trades with our trade analyzer.

Kirk Cousins Fantasy Outlook

A lot of you probably want me to discuss Michael Penix Jr. here, but Cousins is going to be the team’s starting quarterback this season. If Cousins gets injured or struggles so mightily that Penix starts some games, FantasySP will bring you that coverage then.

Cousins was limited to eight games a season ago because of his Achilles injury. He completed 216 of his 311 passes for 2,331 yards, 18 touchdowns and five picks. It’s a shame Cousins got hurt, because he was on pace for a monster season, both in real life and fantasy.

Cousins isn’t much of a runner, and really won’t be now after the injury. He had 25 yards on 14 attempts last season. He might get a QB sneak TD, but I’d think the team tries to protect him as much as possible and just hands the ball off to a back instead.

He had one great receiver and tight end in Minnesota, but Cousins now has an offense full of playmakers waiting to take off. As long as Cousins is fully past the injury, there’s no reason why he couldn’t be a top-end fantasy QB.

Right now, Cousins is barely being drafted in standard leagues. He’s QB18 and going around pick 129. I see a ton of upside and barely any risk by taking Cousins around his ADP. He’s a great backup fantasy option, although I’d be shocked if his ADP doesn’t rise between now and the regular season. 

Running Back Fantasy Outlooks

The Falcons have a solid 1-2 punch in the backfield. Bijan Robinson will lead the way, while Tyler Allgeier proved last season he could be a nice complementary piece. Avery Williams and rookie Jase McClellan are further down the depth chart.

Robinson was great in his rookie season, but severely underutilized. He rushed for 976 yards and four touchdowns on 214 attempts, while hauling in 58 of his 86 targets for 487 yards and four more scores.

Allgeier appeared in 17 games. He rushed for 683 yards and four scores on 186 attempts. Allgeier had 193 receiving yards and a touchdown on 18 grabs and 23 targets.

Williams didn’t appear in a game in 2023. He has just 170 total yards on 35 touches in his first two NFL seasons, with all of that coming in year two. Williams should return kicks to start the season, so he could have some fantasy value there.

McClellan had a couple solid collegiate seasons at Alabama. He wasn’t a huge pass-catching threat, so that limits ways he could potentially get on the NFL field early in his career.

Robinson is the Atlanta back you want, but it’ll cost you an early pick. He’s RB2 and going at pick five on average.

Everyone is expecting Robinson to star in his sophomore season, and I’m part of that crowd. I’d start considering Robinson at pick four, but probably prefer him at pick five or six.

Allgeier is RB49 and a borderline standard league draft choice around pick 149. I think he’ll still hold a role this season, but don’t think it’s worthy of a standard league pick. Now in deeper leagues, drafting Allgeier makes a lot of sense, especially if you drafted Robinson early on. 

No other Atlanta backs should be considered in deeper leagues even. McClellan has a little long-term upside, but at best he’ll probably always be RB2 at least in Atlanta behind Robinson. Avoid McClellan and Williams and pick them up on the waiver wire if Robinson and Allgeier go down with injuries (although I assume the team would look at outside replacements to fill the void instead).

Wide Receiver Fantasy Outlooks

Drake London is WR1 in Atlanta. Darnell Mooney and Ray-Ray McCloud are the likely other starters around him after Rondale Moore was lost to a season-ending injury. Rookie Casey Washington, KhaDarel Hodge and Josh Ali are the top backups at this point.

London had more yards in his second NFL season, but only scored twice. A lot of that can be put on poor quarterback play though. He had 69 catches on 110 targets for 905 yards. 

Mooney was in Chicago for the first four years of his career. He played in 15 games last season, hauling in 31 of his 61 targets for 414 yards and just one score. Mooney went for over 1,000 yards and four scores in his sophomore season, but has just 907 yards and three scores in 27 games since.

McCloud will be on his fifth team in his seven-year NFL career when the season gets underway. In San Francisco last season, he had 135 receiving yards on 12 catches and 15 targets. He rushed three times for 30 yards. McCloud likely will return punts for the Falcons as well.

Hodge played in 17 games last season with Atlanta, hauling in 14 of his 23 catches for 232 yards and no scores. The 232 yards were the most in a single season for Hodge across his six-year NFL career.

Ali didn’t appear in a game in 2023. He had one target in his rookie season in 2022.

Washington only had one good collegiate season at Illinois, and he had just 670 yards and four scores in that year (his final season). The injury to Moore gives him a chance to make an impact as a rookie though.

London is the top Atlanta fantasy receiver off draft boards. He’s WR10 overall and going around pick 19.

I like London to have his best season yet, but I’m definitely not sold on taking him that early. I’d prefer him at least a round later, or to let someone else take a gamble on him.

Mooney is the only other Atlanta receiver on the minds of standard league fantasy owners in drafts. He’s WR67 and going around pick 167. Seeing his career production, I’d prefer to not use a pick on him and instead pick him up off the waiver wire if he excels in Atlanta.

Mooney is a better option in deeper leagues, but the team’s other secondary receivers are likely going undrafted in deeper leagues. One might become a waiver wire option, but I wouldn’t waste a pick on anyone else.

Tight End Fantasy Outlooks

The loss of Moore stings a bit, but having a pass-catching TE like Kyle Pitts helps out immensely. He’ll be backed up by Charlie Woerner this season.

Pitts has had a ton of draft hype every season of his three-year career, but has never delivered an all-around showing. He had over 1,000 yards as a rookie, but just one touchdown. Pitts had 356 yards and two scores in year two. Last season across 17 games, Pitts had 53 grabs on 90 targets for 667 yards and three touchdowns.

Woerner was with the Niners for the first four years of his career. He had just 11 grabs on 15 targets for 120 yards and no scores in the four years combined.

Pitts is clearly the Atlanta TE you want. He’s TE6 and going around pick 57 right now. He wasn’t a top-10 fantasy option at the position in 2023, so this is a bit of a gamble taking him this early.

The talent is there with Pitts, and now with a better quarterback in town, I see him finally playing toward his potential. The fantasy TE position is pretty unpredictable, so a big season could mean a top-three finish, while a so-so season likely means a spot outside the top 10 again. 

I personally prefer Pitts eighth at the position, falling after George Kittle and Evan Engram. I think Pitts has more potential, but at the tough fantasy position, I’m not taking that risk in the middle rounds. Let someone else have Pitts and get a proven TE instead.

Woerner can be avoided in all fantasy league types. The team would probably make an outside move if Pitts were to go down.

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