I hope Atlanta is not cut, while transferring through American hub airports is not my favorite option, the shear frequencies and number of routes Delta operate out of ATL makes it possible to get to almost any where in North/South America via a single stop.
Plus ATL is one of the better US airports to transit through, as just seems more organised tan other places.
If the route is passed back to Delta, a 767-300 might be a more realistically sized aircraft on the route. Especially with the dilution of them upgrading the 757 to a 767 aircraft on the MAN-JFK route and the new services to the US by Virgin and other airlines.