Atlanta Falcons: Will Tevin Coleman bounce back this year?

The Atlanta Falcons are coming into 2016 with star running back Devonta Freeman as their starter. Backup, Tevin Coleman will be looked upon to improve from last year, which saw him go down with an injury. The big question is, “Will Coleman be the great, “change of pace,” back that the Atlanta Falcons drafted?”

The Atlanta Falcons have a lot of offensive weapons at their disposal this year. In free agency, they picked up Mohamed Sanu, to be a number two receiver. The Falcons also picked up Alex Mack to help bolster the offensive line. With these additions, the Falcons will look to improve their offensive numbers from last year.

Tevin Coleman was the Atlanta Falcons third round pick in last year’s draft out of Indiana. At Indiana, Coleman rushed for over 2,000 yards his junior season. Those numbers made him one of the top players in the draft. If Coleman wants to have a good year, he will have to stay healthy and hold onto the football.

Home-Run Threat

Coleman has the ability to score whenever he gets the ball in his hands. He showed that at Indiana, averaging around 170 yards a game and 15 touchdowns his junior year. The Atlanta Falcons would love for Coleman to return to being the home-run threat that he was in college.

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Last year in an Atlanta Falcons jersey, Coleman showed glimpses of what he can be. He only ran the ball 87 times and gained just under 400 yards. If he would have been healthy, Coleman would have gone over 1,000 yards for the season. For a runner that gets downhill fast, Coleman will need to show the Atlanta Falcons he can improve.

Ball Security

One of the issues that Coleman had last year was holding onto the ball. One thing head coach Dan Quinn preaches to his players is to protect the football. Running backs coach Bobby Turner has confidence that Coleman will have a better year in 2016. If Coleman wants to have a role in the offense, he will have to learn how to secure the ball better.

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Coleman has as much talent as anyone. If he can hold onto the ball, he can take some pressure off of Devonta Freeman. Both of them will be sharing carries this year, which means the Atlanta Falcons will have to decide how they want to split them up.

Analysis

Tevin Coleman has the ability and the intangibles to help the Atlanta Falcons rushing attack this year. Coleman, along with Freeman, can be a great running back duo for the Atlanta Falcons if both of them can stay healthy this year.

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Having both of the running backs healthy, will help Matt Ryan and take more pressure off the passing game. If the Atlanta Falcons want to be one of the better teams this year, Tevin Coleman will have to step up and shine.