Falcons WR Bryan Edwards: 'Breakout' Year Coming?

The wide receiver was acquired in a trade earlier this offseason.

Jeremy Brener | Jun 9, 2022

If the Atlanta Falcons are going to improve from last year's 7-10 mark, they are going to need players to step up and play the best football of their career.

According to Falcons Wire, the player with the most potential for a breakout season in 2022 is wide receiver Bryan Edwards.

"[Drake] London is the new No. 1 by default, but Edwards is the player to watch in this group," Falcons Wire wrote. "The former third-round pick finished the 2021 season with a career-best 571 receiving yards and three touchdowns, while averaging 16.8 yards per catch. Plus, the ex-Raider has experience with Falcons QB Marcus Mariota."

The team traded for Edwards in a low-risk, high-reward move. It only cost the team a fifth-round pick and the Falcons got a seventh-round pick in return.

Acquiring London and Edwards enables the Falcons to begin restoring their wide receiving corps. Atlanta has lost talent at the position in back-to-back years, which began by trading Julio Jones to the Tennessee Titans in 2021. In March, the NFL suspended the Falcons' top receiver in Calvin Ridley indefinitely for illegal betting. The team also lost Russell Gage in free agency to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

Comparing Ridley and Gage to London and Edwards will be common throughout the season, as it's only natural to compare what a team has now vs. what a team previously had.

While adding London and Edwards doesn't make the Falcons better at wide receiver than they were last year, the pair provide a ton of optimism and potential to become a duo more dynamic than the predecessors.

Published Jun 9, 2022

JEREMY BRENER

Jeremy Brener is an editor, writer and social media manager for several Fan Nation websites. His work has also been featured in 247 Sports and SB Nation as a writer and podcaster. Brener has been with Fan Nation since 2021. Brener grew up in Houston, going to Astros, Rockets and Texans games as a kid. He moved to Orlando in 2016 to go to college and pursue a degree. He hosts "The Dream Take" podcast covering the Rockets, which has produced over 350 episodes since March 2020. Brener graduated in May 2020 from the University of Central Florida with a Bachelor's degree in Broadcast Journalism minoring in Sport Business Management. While at UCF, Brener worked for the school's newspaper NSM.today and "Hitting the Field," a student-run sports talk show and network. He was the executive producer for "Hitting the Field" from 2019-20. During his professional career, Brener has covered a number of major sporting events including the Pro Bowl, March Madness and several NBA and NFL games. As a fan, Brener has been to the 2005 World Series, 2010 FIFA World Cup and the 2016 NCAA National Championship between the Villanova Wildcats and North Carolina Tar Heels. Now, Brener still resides in the Central Florida area and enjoys writing, watching TV, hanging out with friends and going to the gym. Brener can be followed on Twitter @JeremyBrener. For more inquiries, please email jeremybrenerchs@gmail.com.