Is Mohamed Sanu the most sure-handed receiver in the NFL?

Mohamed Sanu has become, through no fault of his own, one of the most divisive players on the Falcons. Some feel he’s overpaid given his talent and production level, while others feel he’s underrated for his contributions to the team, not all of which show up on the stat sheet. You’ve probably seen that divide reflected in articles here at The Falcoholic.

It’s helpful to take a step back and look at what Sanu accomplished in his first year as a Falcon. He got about 80 targets, wound up with 59 receptions for 653 yards and four touchdowns in 15 total games, and was a very useful blocking wide receiver. Whether you feel that makes him worth the contract or not, those are facts.

Here’s another fact: He has the lowest drop rate in the NFL over the last two seasons, per Pro Football Focus.

This jibes pretty well with what you see from Sanu on the field, even if I suspect nobody would have guessed that Sanu had the lowest drop percentage by a wide margin of anyone in the entire NFL. He’s not the most dynamic downfield threat, but if you throw a catchable ball near him, he tends to come down with it. Reliability is underrated, and with Julio Jones, Taylor Gabriel, Tevin Coleman and Austin Hooper available to stretch the field, Sanu can continue to work effectively everywhere and serve as one of Matt Ryan’s most consistent targets. It’s amazing how deep this passing game is.

In his second year with this offense, there’s no reason to think Sanu will be anything less than a major piece again. Give him a round of applause for being far more sure-handed than you or I.