Julio Jones aside, the Falcons have really struggled to find production at the wide receiver position. Jones is an absolute animal and cannot be stopped one-on-one, but teams were able to effectively double-team him when the field shrunk. Atlanta had to find a solid #2 option this offseason to take some of that pressure of Jones, especially with the release of Roddy White.
Well Atlanta found their guy today. The Falcons were reportedly in talks with Mohamed Sanu for the last few days and he headed to Atlanta this morning to sign with the team. The deal is to be worth around #34 million dollars over 5 years, but only $14 million is guaranteed.
Sanu was a third round pick by the Bengals in 2012 and found himself on and off the field in his four-year tenure in Cincinnati. He was forced to step up for the Bengals in 2014 when A.J Green missed significant time due to injury. He caught 56 balls for 790 yards and 5 touchdowns that season. In 2015, Sanu was just the 5th leading receiver for the Bengals only tallying 394 yards on 33 catches.
Sanu is one of the most versatile receivers in the league. He can catch, run reverses and even throw touchdown passes. He has not eye-popping statistics in Cincinatti, but he was one of many of Andy Dalton’s targets. In Atlanta, Sanu is poised to be the #1 option after Jones and will be getting a lot of one-on-one looks. With the amount of money the Falcons gave Sanu, it shows they are clearly expecting him to take the next step as a receiver in Atlanta.