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Leonard Hankerson: What to Expect in 2015?

By John Buhler

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Wide Receiver Leonard Hankerson comes to the Atlanta Falcons after an injury-riddled four-year stint with the Washington Redskins.  A myriad of injuries including torn knee ligaments have derailed a promising career for this former third-round pick out of Miami (FL).  Assuming that Hank can stay healthy in Atlanta this fall, what exactly should the Falcons expect out of the fifth-year wideout?

-= Related: Atlanta Falcons: Who Is The Team’s 3rd Wide Receiver? =-

Leonard Hankerson will once again play for Offensive Coordinator Kyle Shanahan in 2015.  Both men worked together in the Washington Redskins organization for three seasons (2011-13).  Along with former and current teammate OG Chris Chester, Hank is one of the few Atlanta Falcons players familiar with how Shanahan’s offense works best.

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    • Hankerson, along with Rookie WR Justin Hardy are two of the Falcons wideouts expected to replace Harry Douglas’ production in the slot now that Douglas plays for the Tennessee Titans.  So Hank should get plenty of opportunities to make plays in the Falcons passing game as either a third or fourth receiver.  Even if he does get eclipsed by Hardy on the Falcons’ WR depth chart, Leonard Hankerson should still get plenty of targets as Atlanta has one of the NFL’s most premier aerial attacks.

    In his two most productive seasons with the Redskins (2012-13), Hankerson averaged 34 receptions for 459 yards and 3 touchdowns in 13 games a season.  He was also 3rd to 4th on Washington’s WR depth chart behind DeSean Jackson, Pierre Garcon, and Santana Moss.  So barring injury, Atlanta should get at least that kind of production from Leonard Hankerson in 2015.

    But part of me believes that Hankerson will actually have his best season in the NFL this fall playing for the Atlanta Falcons.  Hank has never had a quarterback like Matt Ryan throwing him passes.  Combine that with playing in the same offense that he had his two best seasons in the NFL and you could expect Leonard to eclipse his previous career highs.

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    Let’s just say that for argument’s sake that Matt Ryan tones down his passing totals just a bit as he now has a solid running game to rely on and throws for 4,000 yards in 2015.  We’ll reserve 2,250 between his two favorite targets: WR’s Julio Jones and Roddy White.

    So with the remaining 1,750 passing yards split between roughly ten other players, you would have to believe that Leonard Hankerson would receive a significant chunk of that due to being either the team’s 3rd or 4th wide receiver.  To me, 40 catches for 650 yards and 4 touchdowns sounds like a reasonable first season with the Atlanta Falcons for Leonard Hankerson, assuming he plays in all 16 games this year.  Not bad season totals for a third or fourth receiving option for QB Matt Ryan.

    Next: Can Tevin Coleman Rush For 1,000 Yards As A Rookie?

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