{"id":284753,"date":"2025-08-13T12:20:14","date_gmt":"2025-08-13T12:20:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/284753\/"},"modified":"2025-08-13T12:20:14","modified_gmt":"2025-08-13T12:20:14","slug":"falcons-deep-receiver-roster-previews-for-2025-season","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/284753\/","title":{"rendered":"Falcons’ Deep Receiver Roster Previews for 2025 Season"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"Atlanta Falcons second-year quarterback Michael Penix, Jr. (9, center) will target the team\u2019s leading receiver, Drake London (5, second from left in black), a lot this season. London caught 100 passes last season. Photo by Donnell Suggs\/The Atlanta Voice<\/p>\n

The road back to the playoffs began two weeks ago at the start of training camp. The preseason is an opportunity to separate the players who will play both big and small parts in getting the Falcons back in the postseason for the first time in eight seasons from the players who won\u2019t be getting that opportunity, at least not in Atlanta.<\/p>\n

During Tuesday\u2019s joint practices with the Titans, the Falcons\u2019 receivers seemed to steal the show during offense vs. defense drills. This year\u2019s crop of receivers might be the deepest the franchise has ever seen\u2014if not ever, then at least since the Falcons made the Super Bowl in 2016.\u00a0<\/p>\n

That team had future Pro Football Hall of Fame inductee Julio Jones (83 catches for 1,409 yards and six TDs), Mohammed Sanu (59 catches for 653 yards and four TDs), tight end Levine Toilolo (13 for 264 and two TDs), and running back Devonta Freeman, who caught 54 balls from another future Pro Football Hall of Famer, quarterback Matt Ryan, for 462 yards and two TDs. Receivers Taylor Gabriel and Justin Hardy were both on the roster and able to step in at times, and so was a third-round pick and rookie tight end by the name of Austin Hooper.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"\"Atlanta Falcons tight end, Kyle Pitts (8) will look to have a bounce-back season after only catching four touchdowns last season.
Photo by Donnell Suggs\/The Atlanta Voice<\/p>\n

During the first of two joint practices against the Tennessee Titans on Tuesday, the Falcons\u2019 receivers looked more aggressive than they had been in camp. Considering this was only the second time they were playing someone other than their teammates, the Falcons opened the preseason against the Detroit Lions last week.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Last season\u2019s leading receiver, Drake London (100 catches for 1,271 yards and nine TDs),\u00a0 will be the lead dog this year as well. His on-field chemistry with second-year quarterback Michael Penix, Jr. will be crucial to both London\u2019s and Penix\u2019s progression this season. London is a surefire number one receiver, and despite the Titans\u2019 defensive backs knowing it, that didn\u2019t stop Penix from finding him over and over again during offense vs. defense drills. London caught passes over the middle and down the sidelines. From time to time, London, a former member of the University of Southern California basketball team, could be seen shaking his head following a catch. London will be a target for all 14 Falcons opponents this season.<\/p>\n

\"\"Photo by Donnell Suggs\/The Atlanta Voice<\/p>\n

Darnell Mooney was second in receptions last season (64) and nearly reached the 1,000-yard mark (992 yards) while adding five touchdowns. Mooney, Ray-Ray MCCloud III (62 catches for 686 yards and a touchdown), and KhaDarel Hodge (seven catches for 131 yards and a touchdown in 17 games in 2024) will round out the receivers on the roster.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Running backs Bijan Robinson (61 catches for 431 yards and a touchdown) and Tyler Allgeier (13 catches) will be outlets for Penix, Jr. when he\u2019s under pressure. Robinson was another frequent target for Penix\u2019s passes during both joint practices. Former Falcons starting quarterback Kirk Cousins found Allgeier for screen passes during his time on the field.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Robinson was third in receptions for running backs last season behind only Miami Dolphins back De\u2019Von Achane (78 catches) and New Orleans Saints running back Alvin Kamara (68). Robinson was targeted 72 times last time, fourth most in the league behind Kamara (89), Achane (87), and New York Jets back Breece Hall (76).<\/p>\n

Falcons tight end Kyle Pitts (47 catches for 602 yards and four touchdowns) and his backup, Charlie Woerner (seven catches for 46 yards in 16 games last season) weren\u2019t threats in the red zone last season, but can have stronger seasons this year now that the quarterback position is stable. Cousin\u2019s late-season play was poor, which didn\u2019t help the tight ends at all.<\/p>\n

The last time the Atlanta Falcons played a regular-season game inside Mercedes-Benz Stadium was at the end of the 2024 regular season, when they lost a 44-38 thriller to NFC South rival Carolina. That game took place this year, January 5, to be precise, but it feels like years away from the 2025 Falcons and the expectations surrounding the team.<\/p>\n

The 2025 regular season will begin with a home opener against NFC South rival Tampa Bay on Sunday, September 7. To properly prepare for that game, the Falcons have been in training camp, played a preseason game, and hosted a joint practice with the Tennessee Titans on Tuesday and Wednesday.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Falcons pass catchers will play a big part in how the season begins and ends.<\/p>\n

\n\tRelated<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Atlanta Falcons second-year quarterback Michael Penix, Jr. (9, center) will target the team\u2019s leading receiver, Drake London (5,…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":284754,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2074],"tags":[223,254,2554,4127,6709,4130,224,7,1070,11499,294,6153,2859,18665,6,394],"class_list":{"0":"post-284753","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-atlanta-falcons","8":"tag-atlanta","9":"tag-atlanta-falcons","10":"tag-atlantafalcons","11":"tag-bijan-robinson","12":"tag-darnell-mooney","13":"tag-drake-london","14":"tag-falcons","15":"tag-football","16":"tag-jr","17":"tag-julio-jones","18":"tag-kirk-cousins","19":"tag-kyle-pitts","20":"tag-matt-ryan","21":"tag-michael-penix","22":"tag-nfl","23":"tag-tennessee-titans"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nfl\/115021429400814172","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/284753","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=284753"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/284753\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/284754"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=284753"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=284753"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=284753"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}