FLOWERY BRANCH – Falcons wide receiver Mohamed Sanu played alongside A.J. Green when with the Bengals from 2012-15 and is getting ready to play next to Julio Jones.
Green, who played at Georgia, was the fourth pick in the 2011 draft, and the Falcons traded up to take Jones with the sixth pick in that draft.
Both have flourished early in their NFL careers. Green is a five-time Pro Bowler, and Jones has been selected to three Pro Bowls and was a first-team All-Pro once.
“With A.J. he has the different coverages that they were trying to put on him,” said Sanu, who signed a five-year, $32.5 million deal with the Falcons on March 10. “You would see a lot of one-on-ones at times. Then when you get a chance to beat those, they would play zones. I’d just try to roll off of what he does and do what I could to the best of my ability.”
Jones has been impressed with Sanu.
“He’s not a guy who feels like he knows everything,” Jones said. “He’s willing to learn and listen. It’s a new scheme he’s coming into, a new offense and he listened to me (at the passing camp). There were certain things, I was like hey, ‘this is what we are looking for on this route.’ The next time he was up to run the route, he did it perfect. He’s going to be great for us.”
Sanu has also been studying the relationship between quarterback Matt Ryan and Jones.
“They are hard-working guys,” Sanu said. “They are always putting extra work in after every workout session and film session. The guys want to be great, and I can see that in them from of those guys. It’s great to learn from both of those guys and get an understanding on how they see things. I’m just trying to get on the same page with both of them.”
Sanu was a quarterback at South Brunswick (N.J.) High before going to star as a wide receiver at Rutgers. His days as a quarterback have been helpful in the NFL.
“It helps me out a lot because I understand what defenses are trying to do,” Sanu said. “I understand where I fit in. I understand that I have to get open within the timing of the play.
“That helps me out tremendously because I know if Matt is waiting on me, I know that I have to get open at a certain amount of time or it’s a sack or he’s moving on to a different receiver.”
About the Author
