Despite back-to-back underwhelming fantasy campaigns, Falcons RB Devonta Freeman appears set for a major 2019 rebound. First, Tevin Coleman – Freeman’s main competition for usage – has departed to San Francisco. Next, Atlanta used two first round picks to bolster an already solid offensive line, selecting athletic BC guard Chris Lindstrom at 14 and trading back into Round 1 for mammoth OT Kaleb McGary. For the first time in NFL history, Atlanta is now poised to roll out a line featuring five first rounders, and Freeman will undoubtedly benefit.
Many are pointing to new OC Dirk Koetter and his pass-happy ways as a negative. Indeed, outside of 2015 (when Koetter revived Doug Martin for a shocking 1673 yard, 7 TD campaign), Koetter’s recent attacks with the Bucs and Falcons featured paltry run-games. But with backfields featuring Steven Jackson‘s corpse and a washed-up Martin as the top options, what could be expected?
Contrastingly, Koetter’s early track-record is sneakily run-heavy, as he was the Jaguars OC behind bowling-ball Maurice Jones-Drew‘s early career success. Three of these four teams ranked in the top-five in rushing attempts, and MJD strung together four-straight RB1 campaigns that featured heavy receiving and goalline usage (including a 1900 total yard, 11 TD masterpiece in Koetter’s last season).
Though not as thick as MJD, Freeman is similarly versatile, with a low-center of gravity and bruising running style. He’s just two seasons removed from back-to-back Top-Five Fantasy campaigns featuring 1500+ total yard, 13+ TDs. Despite the team drafting RBs Qadree Ollison (152 overall) and Marcus Green (203) and hyping Ito Smith, Freeman faces minimal carry-competition. He could see an MJD-style workload, behind a potential Top-Five Line, inside a Top-Five overall offense — all the ingredients for a RB1 campaign. He’s a Round-3 Bargain.
