Two Falcons make the Pro Football Focus midseason All-Pro team

As we consider our own midseason MVPs and such—ours is Grady Jarrett, as a reminder—it’s worth seeing how other outlets regard some of the Falcons’ brightest stars. Predictably, Julio Jones is getting love for a stellar half season limited only by the strength of the offense around him and one indefensible, insanely rare end zone drop. Unpredictably, Derrick Coleman is also getting that love.

Julio, of course, is awesome. He’s just 13th in the NFL in receptions and has a single touchdown to his name, but he’s fourth in the NFL in yards and he remains one of the premier blocking tight ends in football. I’m not going to quibble with the honor here, and nor should you.

Coleman, though? He’s been a solid enough blocker during his time in the game at fullback and has one catch, but he’s getting the nod here for his special teams value. As Pro Football Focus notes, Coleman is tied for the league lead with 10 special teams tackles, with the next closest Falcon having two. He may wind up returning in 2018 based on that alone, given Keith Armstrong’s need for solid teams players.

Again, I don’t know how you go about leaving Grady Jarrett and perhaps even Keanu Neal off a list like this, but it’s good to see some Falcons there. Hopefully many more earn their way on between now and the playoffs.