Zachariah Branch Fantasy Football Outlook With The Atlanta Falcons
Fantasy

Zachariah Branch Fantasy Football Outlook With The Atlanta Falcons

Adam Pfeifer breaks down the fantasy football impact of Zachariah Branch joining the Atlanta Falcons.

Zachariah Branch is set to bring his game-changing upside to Atlanta. The Falcons selected Branch with the 79th overall pick of the draft, allowing the former Bulldog to stay in Georgia. Day two of the NFL Draft has been a bit of a letdown from a fantasy football perspective, but Branch to the Falcons does intrigue me a bit. 

ATL_falcons-logo.svgZachariah Branch Fantasy Football Outlook With The Atlanta Falcons

Branch is a very scheme-dependent wide receiver, making this a very interesting landing spot. With Kevin Stefanski and Tommy Rees coming over from Cleveland, we could see the Falcons deploy plenty of 12 personnel again. Last year, the Browns led the league in that department (41%), with the Falcons right behind them at 38%. Veteran tight end Austin Hooper, who was with Stefanski in Cleveland from 2020-21, has reunited with his former head coach in Atlanta, likely signaling plenty of 2TE sets once again. But there is also an opportunity for someone to emerge as the WR2 behind Drake London. Darnell Mooney is now with the Giants, leaving Branch to compete with Jahan Dotson and Olamide Zaccheaus. 

Branch’s fantasy potential could also really depend on which quarterback is under center for Atlanta. Michael Penix wants to attack more vertically, while Tua Tagovailoa’s tendencies lean towards the short to intermediate parts of the field. Last season, Cleveland ranked 14th in football in screen attempts per game (3.2), so expect Stefanski and Rees to dial up some manufactured touches for Branch. He’ll have every opportunity to win the WR2 role, though, as we saw just last season, Zaccheaus kept explosive rookie WR Luther Burden from logging an every-down role out of the gate.

Should You Plan To Draft Zachariah Branch This Year?

Branch is a player I’ll be keeping an eye on throughout training camp. If it sounds like he has a legitimate chance to play in two-wide sets, I’ll be interested. Of course, that wouldn’t necessarily translate to startable weekly fantasy usage, as he’d, at best, be the third option in the passing game. And possibly even fourth behind Bijan Robinson.

2026 Scouting Report For Zachariah Branch

Screens, screens and more screens.

Getting the ball into Branch’s hands and letting him work is a priority. And watching him work is a privilege. Branch has 4.35 speed and outstanding stop-start ability, changing tempo at ease. He’s elite after the catch, ranking second among all players in this class with 636 such yards. Of course, a large reason for that is how often he was targeted behind the line of scrimmage. Over 51% of his routes this past season were screens, and as Dwain McFarland points out in Branch’s rookie super model profile, Branch’s career aDOT was just 5.3 yards. When so much of a player’s production is schemed up, it can be alarming when transitioning to the NFL, especially if that player doesn’t land in the right scheme. 

There’s little doubt that Branch can make plenty of plays at the next level. He’s one of the most dynamic playmakers in this class. But if he isn’t getting designed targets, those plays might be a lot more difficult to come by.

Players Mentioned in this Article

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