Atlanta Falcons: Top 5 RBs of All Time

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. RB 2008-2012. Northern Illinois. Michael Turner. 2. player. 44

When Michael “The Burner” Turner came to the Atlanta Falcons in the 2008 Offseason from the San Diego Chargers, I just knew that big and powerful things were on the horizon. I remember The Burner dominating the Mid-American Conference in college while at Northern Illinois. While Turner was with the Chargers, he backed up one of the all-time great running backs in LaDainian Tomlinson. After being lightly used in his first four NFL seasons with San Diego, Michael Turner a monstrous 2008 campaign with the Atlanta Falcons.

Along with rookie QB Matt Ryan and fourth-year WR Roddy White, Atlanta got back into the playoffs after arguably the worst season in Atlanta Falcons football, The 2007 Bobby Petrino Lost Year. Turner not only went to the his first Pro Bowl in 2008, but was First-Team All-Pro RB and finished 2nd in MVP voting. In 2008, Turner rushed for 1,699 yards and 17 touchdowns, averaging an amazing 106.2 yards per game.

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Turner made another Pro Bowl for the Atlanta Falcons in 2010 and rushed for over 1,000 yards two more times in his five-year stint with the Dirty Birds. After a down 2012 season, Turner quickly found himself out of the NFL. In his five seasons with the Falcons, Turner set a franchise record for most rushing touchdowns with 60 and finished second all-time in yards rushing with 6,081, behind only Gerald Riggs.

Michael Turner will likely receive a Ring of Honor designation with the Atlanta Falcons in the next couple of seasons. But perhaps what I will remember the most about Michael Turner’s time in Atlanta was that he was a winner. Every Falcons team he played for won at least 9 games, making the playoffs four times, and winning the NFC South twice. No other Falcons running back played during a better stretch of Atlanta football (2008-12) and Michael “The Burner” was a major reason for Atlanta’s success when I was in college.

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