Things are looking up for the Atlanta Falcons. They improved under rookie head coach Dan Quinn by two wins in 2015, and witnessed receiver Julio Jones have one of the best seasons for a wide receiver of all-time. With the off-season release of longtime Falcon Roddy White, a new #2 receiver must step up in his absence, and his name is Justin Hardy.
The Importance of Justin Hardy in 2016
As a rookie in 2015, Hardy had a fairly solid season as a fourth option in the passing game. He racked up almost 200 receiving yards, earning 12 first downs. Given that Hardy was used in a limited role as a fourth-round pick out of East Carolina and only played nine games, he had a fairly solid season.
Limited Role
One of the main reasons Hardy saw limited playing time was due to the emergence of Leonard Hankerson as a reliable third option for quarterback Matt Ryan. Hankerson, who had only played in one game the year prior for the Washington Redskins, caught three touchdown passes and racked up 327 receiving yards on 26 receptions. While he was eventually waived due to hamstring injuries that held him to eight games for Atlanta, the active role that he played for the Falcons when healthy could be a sign of what is to come for Hardy next season.
While Hardy is certainly going to play a major role in the Falcons offense next season, it may remain fairly limited due to the off-season signing of former Cincinnati Bengals receiver Mohamed Sanu. Sanu signed a five-year deal with Atlanta, which may dictate that he is the heir to White’s #2 receiver title. However, given Sanu’s history of dealing with nagging injuries that hold him out of games, it would not be surprising to see Hardy line up alongside Julio Jones for most of 2016.
Past Role as Top Target
Throughout both his high school and college careers, Hardy was almost always the number one receiver. At East Carolina, he set school records for receptions and receiving yards in a season in 2013, racking up 114 receptions for 1,284 yards. Hardy also became the NCAA’s all-time receptions leader in 2014, as he passed Ryan Broyles, who had 349 receptions.
Hardy has also dealt with adversity in his sports career, as he was actually a walk-on at East Carolina. In 2014, Hardy won the Burlsworth Trophy, which is the award given to the most outstanding player who was a walk-on to begin his career.
Can Hardy Step Up as the #2 Receiver?
When it comes down to it, there is no doubting the fact that Hardy has the ability to step up in the absence of Roddy White as the Falcons new #2 receiver. Hardy has the ability to be an extremely solid and reliable receiver in the NFL, and with the addition of other weapons into the offense like rookie tight end Austin Hooper, Hardy should get more one-on-one coverage and far more of an opportunity to get targets.
The rest of the NFL must be on watch for the rise of Justin Hardy as a major offensive threat for Atlanta.
