The Atlanta Falcons have their 53-man roster set and are ready to get things rolling in their season opener against the Pittsburgh Steelers. There were some interesting things to come out of the final roster, and general manager Ian Cunninghamtried to make senseof some of them days after.
One position group that wasleft with some questions was running back, and that feels surprising to say when you have a player like Bijan Robinson. The Falcons will be going into the season with only Robinson and Brian Robinson Jr. as the two lone running backs on the roster.
Many thought the Falcons would carry at least three running backs, especially with how they all played well throughout training camp and preseason. Tyler Goodson was the favorite to make the team, but he was cut and then signed to the practice squad. There shouldn't be much concern after that move, but if something were to happen during a game, the Falcons would only have one running back to rely on.
Falcons have to be careful with Bijan Robinson
Bijan will get most of the workload in the backfield, but he's also shown to have some value catching passes as a receiver. That's a lot to put on a player, and even though he can handle it, the Falcons have to be smart about how they utilize him. Brian can come in and be the bruiser back the team had in Tyler Allgeier for the past few seasons, but he doesn't have the speed that Bijan has.
That's where a player like Goodson would've fit in perfectly, as he showed in the preseason, is that he only needs one open hole, and he's gone. Cash Jones and Nate Carter also showed flashes throughout the preseason, and it's surprising the Falcons didn't keep one of those three around on the 53-man roster. Like Goodson, Jones was also signed to the practice squad.
How will Kevin Stefanski use his running backs?
This adds more questions about Kevin Stefanski's system and how they plan to use their running backs. It wouldn't be a surprise if they leaned on the run more than other teams this season, but that would also mean they could use some more reinforcements on the team.
The only thing to do is hope the Falcons have a perfect plan for their backfield and that they stay relatively healthy during the season. If not, they could be in trouble, but the good thing is that they have some options on the practice squad that they could elevate.
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