100 Questions: Fantasy Football 2024 (Atlanta Falcons)

As we head toward the start of the 2024 NFL and fantasy football season, FTN Fantasy editor-in-chief Daniel Kelley is asking (and attempting to answer) the 100 most pressing questions in fantasy football. This is 100 Questions. Today: The Atlanta Falcons.

In 2020, the Falcons went 4-12. They got the fourth pick in the draft. They spent it on a tight end.

In 2021, the Falcons went 7-10. They got the eighth pick in the draft. They spent it on a wide receiver.

In 2022, the Falcons went 7-10. They got the eighth pick in the draft. They spent it on a running back.

In 2023, the Falcons went 7-10. They got the eighth pick in the draft. They spent it on a quarterback.

I’m not saying I know what will happen for the Falcons in 2024. But I am saying, if they get the eighth pick in the draft next year, they’re out of skill positions to spend it on.

The Questions

8. Does Bijan Robinson Have a Case for 1.01?
9. Can Kirk Cousins Be a Fantasy Starter?
10. Drake London or Kyle Pitts? Or — Dare I Say It — Both?

100 Questions for 2024: Atlanta Falcons

Does Bijan Robinson Have a Case for 1.01?

I addressed this in the intro to this series, but I’ll blow it out here: I believed (and was very clearly wrong, don’t make fun of me), that there was a legitimate argument for taking Bijan Robinson first overall in fantasy drafts last year. The thinking was he had an elite offensive line and a very sketchy quarterback, and after all, what kinda crazy football team would take a running back eighth overall without designs on using him just so, so much?

FLOWERY BRANCH, GA - AUGUST 05: Atlanta Falcons running back Bijan Robinson #7 signs autographs for fans after Atlanta Falcons training camp on August 5, 2023 at IBM Performance Field in Flowery Branch, GA.(Photo by Jeff Robinson/Icon Sportswire) — FLOWERY BRANCH, GA – AUGUST 05: Atlanta Falcons running back Bijan Robinson #7 signs autographs for fans after Atlanta Falcons training camp on August 5, 2023 at IBM Performance Field in Flowery Branch, GA.(Photo by Jeff Robinson/Icon Sportswire)

Oh, how naïve I was.

That said, I stand by the thought process, and while the current coaching staff wasn’t the one that selected Robinson so highly, it is the one that by and large saw Kyren Williams go from afterthought to fantasy star last year. Imagine Kyren Williams but, like, way more talented. We don’t know that Bijan Robinson will get the work we envisioned from him a year ago (maybe Arthur Smith isn’t dumb and Bijan just didn’t look good?), but there’s enough of a chance behind that line and with a quarterback recovering from major injury that yes, a sprinkle of 1.01 is justified. Once or twice in every 10 drafts, I’m fine with it.

Can Kirk Cousins Be a Fantasy Starter?

Since becoming a starter in 2015, Kirk Cousins has had exactly two finishes outside the top 13 quarterbacks. Once was in 2019, his first year in Minnesota, when he averaged under 30 pass attempts per game (29.6) for the only time in his career. The other was, obviously, last year, when he was QB24, owing to his Week 8 torn Achilles. He was averaging 19.3 fantasy points per game at the time of the injury, though, which was QB7 on the year.

That was a long paragraph to say “If Kirk Cousins is healthy, he’s almost definitely startable.” And yet he’s QB18 in ADP. So … is he healthy? That’s harder! We can be basically sure he won’t play in the preseason, so we’re going to be evaluating practice video and hearing murmurs. But he was medically cleared at the start of camp, so for now, I’m cautiously optimistic, and that means if you miss out on the top-flight QBs in drafts, Cousins (and maybe an upside play around the same level) is a handy little strategy.

Drake London or Kyle Pitts? Or — Dare I Say It — Both?

ATLANTA, GA Ð NOVEMBER 20: Atlanta tight end Kyle Pitts (8) embraces Atlanta wide receiver Drake London (5) after he caught a touchdown pass during the NFL game between the Chicago Bears and the Atlanta Falcons on November 20th, 2022 at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, GA. (Photo by Rich von Biberstein/Icon Sportswire)

It feels a little silly to say it about two top-eight draft picks who have played a combined five seasons and have 12 touchdowns and 3,820 yards to show for it, but Drake London and Kyle Pitts have been good NFL players. As good as advertised? Maybe not. But their struggles as much as anyone’s in recent vintage have been a byproduct of a miserable support system, with Marcus Mariota, Desmond Ridder and Taylor Heinicke combining to be the “What if we made Joey and Rachel date?” of the NFL — a storyline that nobody thought was a good idea and turned out at least as bad as expected. In Pitts, we have a tight end who can pass as an excellent receiver for a tight end. The thing about being an excellent receiver for a tight end, though, is that he’s still a tight end. In London, we have a receiver. The last two years, during their overlap, Pitts has yards per route run numbers of 1.69 and 1.43. London, despite being a full-time receiver on a mess of an offense, has 2.07 and 1.87 in the same seasons. The difference, obviously, is that London does his work at the deepest position in the game, while Pitts’ position is much shallower. So ultimately, there’s a very good argument that, assuming Cousins is healthy and the offense makes sense (both should be true!), the answer to this question is “both,” but if I’m picking one of Drake London or Kyle Pitts, I’m comfortably going with the wide receiver.