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Devonta Freeman: Atlanta Falcons’ Bell-Cow Back?

By Matthew Schoettler

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Devonta Freeman continues to shoulder the load for the Atlanta Falcons after Tevin Coleman went down with a rib injury.

Tevin Coleman opened the season as the Atlanta Falcons’ starting running back, earning 20 touches in the season-opener against the Philadelphia Eagles. The following week, Coleman suffered a rib injury that sidelined him for two weeks. After Coleman went down with his injury, Devonta Freeman jumped to the lead-back role and performed exceptionally well.

-= Related: Tevin Coleman Returns, Sees Limited Playing Time =-

Due to Coleman’s injury, the Atlanta Falcons turned to Devonta Freeman as the team’s bell-cow back. Freeman averages almost 24 carries per contest as the team’s starting running back, a mark that ranks among the league’s highest during that stretch. In two of the past three games, Freeman rushed for over 140 yards, including a score in each of those games.

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Devonta Freeman leads the NFL in rushing touchdowns, with eight scores through five games. More notably, all of his rushing scores came after he took over the lead-back role. In week five, Tevin Coleman returned from his rib injury, but he did so in a limited fashion, only carrying the ball twice for three yards. Freeman seems like the starting running back from here-on-out, leaving Coleman as a mere backup.

In addition to Devonta Freeman’s rushing prowess, he is engrained in the passing offense as well. Freeman racked up 24 receptions off of 31 targets for 240 yards, a modest 10 yards per reception (YPR). Although Freeman has not found the end-zone in the passing game, he continues to be the Falcons’ go-to option from the goal-line. Despite not starting the first two games of the season, Freeman sits tied for second place in the NFL for rushing yards with 405, 33 yards behind Matt Forte for the league-lead. 

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Devonta Freeman averages a healthy 4.4 yards per carry (YPC), and he leads the NFL in rushing first downs, with 26. The fact that Freeman can move the chains without much help needed allows him to stay on the field for a sizable amount of the offensive snaps. With Dan Quinn implementing a run-first approach, Freeman expects to continue to see a large share of touches.

Tevin Coleman seems to be an afterthought; since, Devonta Freeman took over the Atlanta Falcons’ backfield. The lead-back role is Freeman’s to lose now that he put together his third-consecutive solid performance. Also, with Coleman only receiving two touches in week five, expect Dan Quinn to stick with the hot hand. Look for Devonta Freeman to continue to garner the bulk of the work out of the Falcons’ backfield in week six.

Next: Atlanta Falcons: NFC Power Rankings, Week 6

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