Viktor
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- Mar 19, 2019
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2. Will Xavier Rhodes travel with Julio Jones?
You’d be hard-pressed to find a better receiver in the NFL than Julio Jones dating back to 2011. He has five consecutive seasons of at least 1,400 yards and has six such seasons for his career. In 2018, Jones had 1,677 yards on 113 targets. This will be the fourth time Jones has lined up across from Vikings star cornerback Xavier Rhodes. In the previous three matchups, Rhodes and the Vikings defense have fared well. Jones hasn’t scored a touchdown in those contests and has averaged only 56 yards per contest, down from the 96.6 yards per game he averages for his career. Will Rhodes travel with Jones every snap as he’s done in the previous three matchups? If so, will the Falcons have an answer? And if Rhodes doesn’t travel with Jones, how will others perform when checking the seemingly uncheckable pass catcher?
3. Falcons rookie offensive linemen face big-time test
Atlanta has invested heavily in their offensive line. So much so that they now each of their starters was a 1st-round pick – left tackle Jake Matthews (2014), left guard James Carpenter (2011 by Seattle), center Alex Mack (2009 by Cleveland), right guard Chris Lindstrom (2019) and right tackle Kaleb McGary (2019); Atlanta also lists Matt Gono, who has zero career games played, as a possible starter at right tackle. Did you catch it, though? Two of them were 1st-round picks this past April, meaning Atlanta will be starting two rookies right next to each other on the right side. The good news is Lindstrom and McGary are talented players worthy of being selected in the 1st round. The bad news is their first test in the regular season comes on the road at the loudest stadium in the NFL against the best defensive line in the NFL. It will be a fun matchup to watch on Sunday.