Falcons wide receiver Leonard Hankerson doesn’t have tenure, but this offseason he’s been conducting class in the offense’s meeting room.
Just call him “Professor Hank.”
Hankerson, a modest free agent signee by the Falcons, learned team’s new offense under Kyle Shanahan while a member of the Washington Redskins. He knows the ins and outs of the attack and has been more than willing to pass that information along to his new teammates.
“I’ve played in this offense for three years,” Hankerson said as the Falcons wrapped up their offseason program with the final practice of minicamp on Thursday. “This is my fourth year now. I’m helping the other guys out. We are just taking it to the field and getting better.”
Wide receiver Julio Jones and Roddy White have been quick to credit Hankerson with helping them understand the new route tree and passing-game concepts.
“I’m learning every position,” Jones said. “In this offense, you have to know everything.”
Hankerson, 26, was signed by the Falcons to a one-year contract after playing four seasons in Washington, where he caught a career-high 57 passes in 2012 under Shanahan. He was originally a third-round draft pick from Miami.
“During my years with him in Washington, we were one of the top offenses in the league,” Hankerson said. “With the weapons that he has on this team, there is no doubt about it, that we can be a top-five offense. We can be a great team.”
The Falcon must maintain their high passing ranking and improve dramatically their rushing game.
While the team was eighth overall last season in total yards with 378.2 per game, the Falcons were also 24th in rushing at 93.5 yards per game. The team ranked fifth in passing with 284.6 yards per game.
With the offseason release of Harry Douglas, Hankerson is competing for the No. 3 receiver spot behind Jones and White.
“We have a great corps, one of the best I’ve been on,” Hankerson said. “Last year, being in there with Pierre (Garcon), DeSean (Jackson) and Santana (Moss), it’s up there. Roddy and Julio, you know they are great guys. We are all competing with each other.”
Hankerson, 6-foot-2 and 211 pounds, has helped his new teammates with new terminology.
“Everybody knows their job,” Hankerson said. “They know what we have to go out there and get done. We have different players that can play different positions. We are moving everybody around.
“That’s what we have to do to get the job done. You can’t just know one position, you have to know all of them. We have some play-makers that are going to get it done.”
Hankerson, who was slowed by a hip injury as a rookie in 2011, battled last season to come back from knee surgery.
“I’m good,” Hankerson said. “I’ve been in the training room, doing what I have to do to take care of my body. Everything is going good.”
Hankerson has had strong offseason, catching the attention of head coach Dan Quinn and quarterback Matt Ryan.
“One of the things that we really like about Hank’s game is the big catching radius,” Quinn said. “He’s got long arms and can go catch as low or high. All of the deep overs that he’s effective on, I think that’s one of the things that really jumped out.”
Ryan believes they can find a spot for Hankerson.
“We want to be explosive and have great speed off the ball,” Ryan said. “I think we’ve got those guys on our roster at our wide receiver position: Julio Jones, Roddy White, Justin Hardy and Devin Hester. Those guys can run. You bring in Leonard Hankerson, a guy that’s coming off of an injury, but he looks great. He’s explosive and long.”
For now, Professor Hank’s class is dismissed until training camp starts in late July.
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