Fantasy impact of the Falcons 2021 NFL Draft selections

The Atlanta Falcons are in a tough spot at this point in their franchise. They still have plenty of talent, with Matt Ryan, Julius Jones and Calvin Ridley at the core, but we’ve also seen where that’s landed them of late. They’ve now gone from losing after a 28-3 lead in the Super Bowl, to a playoff loss and then back-to-back 7-9 seasons that featured some terrible stretches of play.

Ryan will never be considered one of the greatest at his position, but he’s been good enough and came so close to that championship ring. But, at this point, the Falcons need to start a rebuild with a quarterback of the future. Ryan will keep them competitive this season, but the transition needs to happen. So the big question for this year’s draft is if they’ll take a quarterback at No. 4 overall? They are in a strong position, as they can grab a top quarterback for the future, grab a top offensive player like Kyle Pitts to give them help for a playoff run, or trade back for a big haul to help rebuild. Whatever they do, it will be a surprise to a big chunk of fans.

Atlanta Falcons 2021 Draft selections

No. 4: Kyle Pitts, TE
No. 40 (via DEN): Richie Grant, S
No. 68: Jaylen Mayfield, OT
No. 108: Darren Hall, CB
No. 114 (via DEN): Drew Dalman, C
No. 148: Ta’Quan Graham, DT
No. 182: Adetokunbo Ogundeji, DE
No. 183: Avery Williams, CB
No. 187: Frank Darby, WR

Fantasy football impact

Pitts has the ability to quickly become a Top 5 fantasy tight end in his rookie season. There will be growing pains, but he has all the skills to win matchups all over the field, especially with Calvin Ridley and Julio Jones working on either side. This does mean that Hayden Hurst is out of the fantasy equation and may end up being moved.