Things are not going the way the Falcons hoped this season. After starting 3-2 they’ve dropped five straight and now sit at 3-7. It gets worse with starting quarterback Michael Penix Jr. out for the year with a knee injury.
One major reason for this lackluster season is their wide receiver room. It is one of the weakest groups in the league and Drake London is the only real starter they have. he has 810 receiving yards and 60 catches, but no other wideout has more than 16 receptions or a single touchdown.
Atlanta has to fix this in the 2026 NFL Draft. They traded their first-round pick to the Rams last year to move up for James Pearce Jr., who has only 11 tackles this season, but they should be in position to add a playmaker on Day 2. One player who makes a lot of sense next to Drake London is Georgia’s Zachariah Branch.
What Zachariah Branch brings to the table
Branch would be a clean fit for a couple reasons. First, he upgrades the slot spot immediately. David Sills only has four receptions this season and Branch brings a completely different level of juice. His speed jumps out right away. He ran a 4.41 coming out of high school and he is expected to clock in the 4.3 range at the NFL Combine.
His toughness is another major plus. He can catch in traffic and break tackles after the catch. According to Pro Football Focus he has caught 63 percent of his tight-window targets this year and combines that with strong hands that make him a reliable option inside. He has already forced 15 missed tackles this season and his contact balance shows up every single week.
Branch also brings value on special teams. He won the Jet Award in 2023 as the nation’s top return specialist and took both a kickoff and a punt back for touchdowns. Atlanta badly needs this. They rank dead last in kickoff return average at 21.7 yards and sit 27th in punt return average at 7.4 yards.
Zachariah Branch 96 yards to the house 🏠 pic.twitter.com/KXNjhVmeRL
— Pac-12 Network (@Pac12Network) August 27, 2023
His main negatives are his size at 5-foot-10 and 180 pounds, and the fact he is not going to win many jump balls. In Atlanta, that is not a real issue because he would be used in the slot where those concerns matter a lot less.
For all these reasons, he would be an ideal fit for the Falcons and a player who could help them right away.