Falcons in first place despite offense not yet maximizing RB Bijan Robinson WR Drake London TE Kyle Pitts

Falcons in first place despite offense not yet maximizing RB Bijan Robinson WR Drake London TE Kyle Pitts

Blog Article

The are in first place in the NFC South and have the easiest remaining schedule in the . Everything is just peachy in Atlanta, right?Not exactly. The Falcons need to hit their stride on offense if they are going to hang onto this division lead, unlike last year when they were in first place around this time of year before finishing 7-10.The Falcons are winning because of an improved defense. They are 29th in points per game and 24th in EPA per play on offense so far in the 2023 season.Their big three on offense has yet to get rolling. is 13th in rushing yards after Sunday's well-documented one-touch effort. is 30th in receiving yards and is 56th. Atlanta drafted each of those players in the top 10 in the last three years, becoming the first team in NFL history to take a RB, WR and TE in the top 10 in three straight Malik Herring Jersey drafts.Are the Falcons getting the most out of their investments? Let's explore.Bijan Robinson had one touch in Week 7, but let's take that performance out of the equation based on the fluky nature of Atlanta's handling of his illne s.Check out Robinson's ranks among RBs from Weeks 1-6:13th in percentage of team touches (34%)21st in percentage of team rushes (45%)40th in percentage of team red zone rushes (26%)43rd in percentage of team goal-to-goal rushes (22%)Robinson has surprisingly taken a backseat to in the red zone area, and it's not like Allgeier is going beast mode on the competition. The Falcons ranked among the league average in red zone and goal-to-goal efficiency through Week 6. ATL RB #7 Att81Yds404TD0FL1 Yet Robinson had just two of the team's nine goal-to-go rushes in that span, and one of their six rushes at the five-yard line or closer.There's been 32 instances of a player with 20 rushes in a game this season. None has been by Bijan Robinson.He has one game with 20 touches this season. Eighteen players have multiple games with 20-plus touches this season. These are surprising numbers given how explosive Robinson has looked, and how much better he's been than Allgeier.Robinson is averaging nearly two more yards per touch than Allgeier this season.Thirty-nine players have had at least 100 touches through six career games since 2000. Robinson ranks fifth among that group in yards per touch (5.6). Most Yards per Touch in First Six Career GamesSince 2000 (Min. 100 Touches) (2007)7.2 (2017)7.0 (2018)6.5 (2015)5.7Bijan Robinson (2023)5.6Atlanta is clearly better with Robinson on the field, and more likely to hit big plays. From Weeks 1-6, the Falcons averaged 5.0 yards per play with Robinson on the field and 4.2 with his backup Allgeier on the field.Falcons by RB on Field from Weeks 1-6Bijan RobinsonTyler AllgeierPct of plays72%37%Yards per play5.04.220+ yard plays174Per NFL Next Gen Stats,this season while Allgeier is 35th (-0.62) among Darrel Williams Jersey 41 players with 40+ carries.Robinson was the eighth overall pick in 2023, so I'd expect Atlanta to feed him the rock more, especially in the red zone. It's not completely indefensible, though.Perhaps the Falcons are trying to protect their investment or keep Robinson fresh for the stretch run. He was on pace for 300 touches prior to the Week 7 fiasco, which is no small number.Eight players had 300 touches last year. The only player exceeding their Fantasy production from last season is .Still, if Atlanta wants to make the playoffs, it'll ride Robinson to get there.London was the eighth overall pick in 2022, but you wouldn't know it based on Week 1 when he had zero catches on one target against the .London accounts for 23 percent of the Falcons' targets this year, down from 29 percent in his rookie year. Some of those targets have gone to Robinson and Pitts, but at least it's been on the upswing lately. ATL WR #5 TAR50REC32REC YDs383REC TD2FL0 London ranks top 10 in the NFL in catches (21), receiving yards (257) and targets (28) in the last three weeks.He's still being underutilized for a Zayne Anderson Jersey player with his skill set. He has 10 targets on throws at least 15 yards downfield this season, tied for 48th in the NFL.The Falcons traded a seventh-round pick for TE this offseason. Naturally, it's surprising to see Smith has more catches this year than Kyle Pitts, who was the highest drafted tight end in NFL history (fourth pick in 2021).Back in 2021, Pitts became the second rookie tight end with 1,000 receiving yards in NFL history (Mike Ditka in 1961). He has 654 yards in 17 games since. ATL TE #8 TAR43REC25REC YDs298REC TD1FL0 The big selling point on Pitts entering the league was versatility. He's not just a tight end, but a playmaker.That definitely showed up in 2021. Over 90 percent of his yards as a rookie came lined up in the slot or out wide. He had 26 catches for 522 yards when lined up wide in 2021, good for an absurd 20.1 yards per catch. He had twice as many receiving yards out wide than any other tight end that year.Kyle Pitts Lined up Wide in Career20212022-23Pct of snaps31%28%Receptions2618Rec yards522191Yards per rec20.110.6That production has fallen off a cliff and I hardly blame the Falcons here. Pitts is lining up outside at about the same rate as his rookie year. He's not as explosive and is making fewer plays.Part of that might be lack of chemistry with , or Pitts not being fully healthy after tearing his MCL last season.Either way, it's clear some of his team-high 15 targets on throws 15-plus yards downfield should be going to Drake London.Atlanta also needs to feed Robinson if it's going to live up to their potential, until then it's like putting a boot on a Ferrari.
https://johnnyfwly97531.blogsmine.com/29403525/packers-robert-tonyan-tears-acl-in-thursday-night-win-over-cardinals-green-bay-te-done-for-the-year
Click here Click here