I don’t understand Atlanta’s decision to sign Mohamed Sanu to a five-year contract worth $32.5 million, with $14 million guaranteed. That’s an awfully large contract for a receiver who’s been very mediocre in his first four seasons.
Sanu, recall, was a third-round pick out of Rutgers in 2012. After hardly playing as a rookie, he was a serviceable third receiver in 2013, catching 47 passes for 455 yards, with 2 TDs.
In 2014, the Bengals had all kinds of injury problems, with Tyler Eifert and Marvin Jones both missing essentially the entire season. A.J. Green got hurt as well. This moved Sanu into a more prominent role in the offense, but he still wasn’t much of a factor – 56 catches for 790 yards and 5 TDs.
With Jones healthy last year, Sanu moved back down to the No. 3 role. He didn’t get as many opportunities, and he didn’t do much with his limited chances – 33 catches for 394 yards, with no touchdowns.
Sanu can contribute on gadget plays. Over the last four years, he’s been one of the league’s most effective running wide receivers, catching 26 times for 153 yards. He ran for 2 TDs last year. He’s also 5-for-5 as a passer during his career, including another 2 TDs.
But Sanu to me looks like a player who should either be a No. 3 receiver or at best competing to be a starter. He doesn’t bring much speed to the table, and I haven’t seen him win on enough contested balls in traffic. I am very surprised the Falcons put up the kind of money they did, which seems to indicate they think he’s going to be a nice upgrade over Roddy White (who didn’t have much of a role in their offense last year).
Put me down as skeptical. Wouldn’t surprise me if the receiver they drafted in the fourth round last year, Justin Hardy, ends up putting up better numbers. But most likely, Sanu will start, with Hardy being utilized as a slot receiver.
—Ian Allan
