Atlanta Falcons: Top Five Current Falcon’s Players

The Atlanta Falcons have one of their most talented rosters in recent memory and are set for a possible playoff run with the regular season over and a first round bye locked up for wildcard weekend. Barring an upset of the Seattle Seahawks the Falcons are likely to have a grudge match in a little less than two weeks at the Georgia Dome. With that in mind and two weeks without a Falcon’s game let’s look back at the Falcon’s top five players this past season.

Before we begin there are a couple of players worth mentioning who didn’t quite make the cut.

Keanu Neal- A lot of heads were turned when the Falcons spent a first round pick on a safety that many thought would be around well into the second round of the draft. Coach Dan Quinn and the Falcons were not comfortable waiting and taking a chance on missing out on the rookie safety.

With a full season now under his belt we can see why Coach Quinn wanted Neal so badly. Neal piled up tackles while hitting with ferocity that is often lacking in today’s NFL.  We will avoid comparing him to a certain Seahawks’ safety that he has drawn comparisons to all season. Neal is his own player whose hard hitting style is exactly what Atlanta was lacking and should help rebuild the Falcon’s defense.

Taylor Gabriel/Mohamed Sanu- The Falcon’s passing attack is best in the league and it would not be fair to talk about the Falcon’s talented players without mentioning Sanu and Gabriel. Both have brought a unique skill set to Atlanta that has helped put their offense as the most feared in the league.

Gabriel caught fire the second half of the season with explosive plays as a receiver and on occasion from the backfield. He is a joystick of a player juking and outrunning the opposition making something out of nothing often and always has the ability to score on one play.

Sanu brings a very different but equally important skill set. Sanu is a big bodied receiver who is difficult to bring down and brought needed size to a receiving core that needed more size. Gabriel and Sanu both have helped carry this Atlanta passing attack to the best in the NFL and deserve credit for the seasons they have had.