Which Atlanta Falcons Are in Your Fantasy?

Let's be serious for a moment.

How many of you picked Michael Turner in the first round of your fantasy football draft last year?

If you raised your hand or mumbled "I did" to yourself then I'm calling your bluff and saying you lied.

In my 14-team fantasy league, Turner fell to the fourth round only to be the NFL's second leading rusher behind Adrian Peterson.

This year, more Falcons should be selected in fantasy drafts across the country. And here's where I think these Falcons will go, and what I project for them in terms of fantasy numbers.

Michael Turner: First round, second overall pick

Consistency.

That's the best way to describe what Michael Turner will give your fantasy team this season.

His 1,699 rushing yards put him second in the NFL behind Adrian Peterson, and in touchdown heavy leagues, owners were pleased with him reaching paydirt 17 times.

Turner averaged 106 yards per contest and scored a touchdown in 10 of Atlanta's 16 games. And Turner will occasionally blow up, like he did against Detroit in Week One (220 yards, two touchdowns), Carolina in Week 12 (117 yards, four touchdowns) and St. Louis in Week 17 (208 yards, one touchdown).

Turner will still be the primary red zone option for Atlanta, which should improve from its average output last year.

Turner's carries will decrease, but I expect him to run for about 1,350 yards and 11 touchdowns.

Roddy White: Third round, 23rd-27th overall pick

Roddy White is a good early third round selection, considering by this point the top running backs, quarterbacks and wide receivers will be off the board.

White will put up another 1,000 yard season, but the only knack on him will be whether he can put up a lot of touchdowns.

Last season, while ranking fourth in receiving yards, he scored seven times which was about average for wide receivers.

White's a good pick in the early third round pick if you can't draft one of the top quarterbacks (Tom Brady, Peyton Manning, Drew Brees) and if you followed up your first round running back pick with another running back.

My projection for White is that he'll go for 1,245 yards and eight touchdowns.

Tony Gonzalez: Sixth round, 66th-72nd overall pick

Tony Gonzalez's age combined with being on a new team may cause him to fall to the sixth round if not lower in many fantasy drafts.

But the sixth round is a good place to grab him if you've already secured spots at running back and quarterback.

Gonzalez ranks as the third best tight end entering this year's fantasy draft (Jason Witten and Antonio Gates ranked ahead of him) and he should see some work with the Falcons.

Gonzalez may not put up the numbers he did in Kansas City a year ago, but he should be good for about 900 yards and six touchdowns.

Matt Ryan: Late eighth round or early ninth round, 94th-100th overall pick

Matt Ryan is a consistent NFL player with a work ethic many professional players should have.

But that may not be good enough in fantasy terms to make him a starting quarterback.

By the late eighth and early ninth rounds, if you have one of the top three quarterbacks (Brady, Manning, Brees) then don't draft Ryan unless you know someone that wants him late and you know you can use him for trade value.

But if you, for some reason, have not drafted a quarterback yet or drafted Donovan McNabb in the fifth or sixth rounds, then Ryan serves as a good backup at this point if you think he may be the best available player.

Projecting Ryan is hard because I can see either two things: Getting a huge value pick at this stage with Ryan throwing for 3,950 yards and 24 touchdowns, or more of the same, with Ryan throwing for 3,300 yards and 19 touchdowns.

Michael Jenkins: 14th round or free agency

If you're like me and you don't like drafting kickers and defenses, then taking a chance on Michael Jenkins in the last round isn't a bad idea (that is if your league is like mine and there are some free agent spots open after the draft is over).

Jenkins had 777 yards and three touchdowns and, if needed, could fill a spot one or two weeks if a wide receiver/running back slot is open.

Jenkins' numbers should stay around the same (I'll project 750 yards and four touchdowns). I think it's possible he may catch as many as five touchdowns or as little as two.

Jason Elam: 14th round or free agency

If you're going to draft a kicker, Jason Elam is not a bad choice at all.

Elam connected on 29 out of his 31 field goal attempts in 2008 for a staggering 93.5 percentage.

Inside the 40, Elam is money and still a reliable source for Atlanta points.

Elam doesn't attempt many long kicks, going 1-2 from field goals over 50 yards (made one against Detroit and missed one against Oakland).

I don't think Elam has the kind of year he did last year, but I think he connects on about 27 of 35 field goal attempts (which, really, how do you project or guess this number?)

Falcons Defense: Free agency, possible midseason pickup

It is my recommendation that you do not draft the Falcons defense, nor pick them up in free agency for the start of the season.

Last year's team gave up 348 yards and 20.3 points per game (with games against Oakland and Kansas City helping this average). This year may not be any better considering the players Atlanta lost to free agency.

This year's schedule is too brutal right now to make any decisions on drafting the Falcons defense.

But who knows? Every year, there's a player or defense that surprises fantasy leagues.

And the Falcons defense, coached by Brian VanGorder, could be this year's free agency pickup in Week Three or Four that makes a difference by the end of the season.

But just sit back and wait before jumping the gun on that one.