The Falcons would be smart to stick with the young receivers on the roster as they build towards the future.  26-year old Roddy White had a breakout season in 2007 for the Falcons.  He benefitted from having QBs on the team that could throw the football with accuracy and that should be the case again in 2008.  White played in all 16 games for the Falcons last season and he caught 83 passes for 1,202 yards (14.5 avg) with 6 TD grabs.  There is no reason to think that White can’t do it all over again in 2008.  White has now played in 48 games in his NFL career and he has caught 142 passes for 2,154 yards (15.2 avg) with 9 TD grabs.  He has also carried the ball 5 times for 10 yards (2.0 ypc) in his career.

23-year old Laurent Robinson appears to be a receiver on the rise for the Falcons.  He played in 15 games as a rookie last season for the Falcons and he caught 37 passes for 437 yards (11.8 avg) with 1 TD grab.  Look for him to improve on those numbers this season for the Falcons as he appears to be moving up the depth chart.

The Falcons really like 23-year old rookie WR Harry Douglas.  He’s super fast but he’s a small guy at 5’11″, 170 pounds.  His size didn’t hinder him at Louisville however as he played in 10 games (all starts) last season and he caught 71 passes for 1,159 yards (16.3 avg) with 7 TD grabs.  The Falcons envision Douglas as a huge deep threat for them in 2008.  He finished his career at Louisville having played in 47 games (28 starts) in which he caught 173 passes for 2,915 yards (16.8 avg) with 15 TD grabs.

The Falcons keep waiting for 26-year old Michael Jenkins to live up to his potential but it just hasn’t happened yet.  He is a big guy at 6’4″, 217 pounds and he’s fast so I can’t figure out why he isn’t a better football player than he is.  Jenkins played in 15 games for the Falcons last season and he caught 53 passes for 532 yards (10.0 avg) with 4 TD grabs.  It’s doubtful that Jenkins will put up better numbers in 2008 as the Falcons have more depth at WR this season.  Jenkins has now played in 61 games in his NFL career and he has caught 135 passes for 1,595 yards (11.8 avg) with 14 TD grabs.

36-year old Joe Horn is running out of time as he appears to be getting slower and he just can’t stay healthy anymore.  Horn played in 12 games with the Falcons last season and he caught 27 passes for 243 yards (9.0 avg) with 1 TD grab.  The days of putting cell phones in the padding of the goalposts appear over for Horn who is on the last leg of his NFL career.  Horn has now played in 164 games in his NFL career and he has caught 603 passes for 8,744 yards (14.5 avg) with 58 TD grabs.  He has also carried the football 14 times for 54 yards (3.9 ypc) in his career.

The Falcons would love to see 32-year old Brian Finneran make it back to action this season.  He is a big target at 6’5″, 217 pounds and he has a great set of hands.  Finneran hasn’t played since the 2005 season as he tore his ACL in each of the last two training camps the Falcons have had.  He has played in 86 games in his NFL career and he has caught 187 passes for 2,647 yards (14.2 avg) with 15 TD grabs.

Adam Jennings is running out of time with the Falcons at WR.  He’s on the small side at 5’9″, 181 pounds but he’s pretty fast.  Jennings played in all 16 games for the Falcons last season and he caught 6 passes for 62 yards (10.3 avg) with 1 TD grab.  Jennings also played in 15 games in 2006 for the Falcons but he didn’t catch any passes as a rookie that season.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE 2008 SEASON:  C