Atlanta Falcons fantasy stud and dud from Week 16

The Falcons have come alive the past two weeks, winning two games in a row after enduring a five-game losing streak which essentially ended their season. The offense put up 24 points and had a solid afternoon on fantasy championship weekend.

We have a lot of great content analyzing the game here at The Falcoholic, but in this article, we’ll look at things strictly from a fantasy football perspective. Let’s look at Atlanta’s top fantasy performer and biggest fantasy disappointment from Week 16’s victory against the Carolina Panthers.

Fantasy Stud/Dud 2018 History:

Past Studs: Matt Ryan (4), Julio Jones (3), Calvin Ridley (2), Mohamed Sanu (1), Giorgio Tavecchio (1), Matt Bryant (1), Austin Hooper (1), Atlanta D/ST (1)

Past Duds: Mohamed Sanu (3), Calvin Ridley (3), Austin Hooper (3), Atlanta D/ST (2), Tevin Coleman (2) Devonta Freeman (1)

Stud - Mohamed Sanu

Stats: 5 catches, 81 receiving yards, 1 receiving touchdown, 2 carries, 29 rushing yards: 17.0 standard league points/22.0 PPR points

Sanu rewarded those brave enough to start him in their final fantasy game of the season, registering his highest point total of the year. I suggested rolling the dice on starting Sanu in this week’s start/sit column for those brazen enough to do so.

The Rutgers product was second on the team in receiving yards and first in receptions — Calvin Ridley had a better pure receiving stat-line of 90 yards and a score, but Sanu’s extra 29 rushing yards and bonus two points in PPR leagues gives him the edge as this week’s stud.

Dud

Austin Hooper: 2 catches, 36 receiving yards: 3.6 standard league points/ 5.6 PPR points

It’s been a rough end to the season for Hooper, as he registers back to back dud appearances to surpass Ridley and Sanu as the most frequent fantasy dud of 2018.

Hooper had a favorable matchup, against the third-worst defense against opposing fantasy TEs, but he failed to take advantage of it. Julio Jones, who was used almost exclusively as a decoy following the first drive, did have fewer yards than Hooper but he scored a touchdown.

Hooper’s failure to show up in the fantasy playoffs hangs a dark cloud on a great season, where he was a a top 10 scoring TE in fantasy football.

Thank you to everyone who read this column each week. Since the majority of fantasy leagues only play through Week 16, this will be the last stud/dud article of the season.

Stay tuned for the 2018 season fantasy stud/dud article, which will be the season finale of this column.