Duke Riley

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• Falcons' Duke Riley: NFL struggles persist

  01/04/2019 • By RotoWire Staff

  Riley collected 60 tackles and two pass deflections during his second season with the Falcons in 2018. Riley fell out of favor in the preseason due to missed tackles, and he only received nine defensive snaps in the opener against Philadelphia. But after Deion Jones was diagnosed with a broken foot later that week, the inconsistent RIley was entrusted with 56.8 snaps per game between Weeks 2 and 5. As the season wore on, rookie Foyesade Oluokun surpassed him on the depth chart, eventually leading to Riley's ostracization from the defense by way of just 25 combined defensive snaps over the final five games of the year. With an offseason forthcoming to sharpen his tackling technique, Riley looks to bounce back in 2019 for an Atlanta defense that's desperately searching for playmakers.

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• Falcons' Duke Riley: Drastic cut in playing time

  10/15/2018 • By RotoWire Staff

  Riley collected four tackles and a pass deflection during Sunday's 34-29 victory over Tampa Bay. It may not seem like a substantial feat, but Atlanta held an opponent to fewer than 30 points for the first time in the past four games, bringing an end to a disheartening three-game skid. This came with the team's 2017 third-round pick, Riley having his defensive snap count sliced from an average of 56.8 plays per game between Week 2 and Week 5, to 28 defensive snaps in Sunday's win over Tampa Bay. The decision to peel back Riley's playing time is likely tied to a turbulent performance against Pittsburgh the game prior in which he missed six of a possible 12 tackles. The team prefers rookie Foyesade Oluokun moving forward, D. Orlando Ledbetter of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports, leaving Riley's IDP value in flux for the time being.

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• Falcons' Duke Riley: Will not play Sunday

  11/10/2017 • By RotoWire Staff

  Riley (knee) was ruled out for Sunday's game against the Cowboys, D. Orlando Ledbetter of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports. Head coach Dan Quinn indicated Riley has began running and is coming closer to a return, but he will miss his third consecutive game after undergoing surgery to repair a torn meniscus in late October. Kemal Ishmael should continue to see an increased role on the Falcons' defense.

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• Falcons' Duke Riley: Officially out Sunday

  10/27/2017 • By RotoWire Staff

  Head coach Dan Quinn says Riley (knee) is out for Sunday's game against the Jets, Vaughn McClure of ESPN.com reports. Riley will miss his first game since entering the league in the third round of this season's draft. He had surgery on his meniscus Wednesday and is expected to miss a few more weeks too. In his absence, expect Kemal Ishmael to take over his workload. Riley has 20 tackles (eight solo) this season, and he has only played over 40 defensive snaps once.

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• Falcons' Duke Riley: Likely to miss 'a couple weeks' after surgery

  10/25/2017 • By RotoWire Staff

  Falcons head coach Dan Quinn said Wednesday that Riley (knee) will likely be out for "a couple weeks" after undergoing surgery to address a meniscus tear, Vaughn McClure of ESPN.com reports. The Falcons haven't provided any information regarding the extent of Riley's meniscus injury, but the fact that he's not being ruled out for the season suggests it's not a tear will require a complete repair, which would necessitate months of rehab. With Riley sidelined for at least the next two games, it's expected that Kemal Ishmael will take on a larger share of snaps at weakside linebacker.

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