Devonta Freeman looks undervalued. He was the 19th running back selected in a best-ball slow draft I'm participating in right now, and while that's probably about right, I like him a little more than a few backs drafted ahead of him. Atlanta uses two running backs, but Freeman looks like by far the best option.
The Falcons improved their offensive line in the offseason, including using a pair of first-round picks on linemen. They also lost Tevin Coleman in free agency, and while they'll likely plug in Ito Smith, he was pretty ineffective last year (3.5 yards per carry). Freeman will likely be featured, and he could be pretty good as that top running back.
Dan Quinn says Freeman looks back to the player he was pre-injury. “He looks so much like himself," Quinn says in a story at the team website. "For him coming back off an injury, it takes a lot of physical toughness and it takes a lot of mental toughness."
Freeman appeared in just two games last season, his season essentially wiped out by a variety of injuries. But flash back to 2017, when he played 14 games, and only 10 backs averaged more fantasy points per game (1 point for every 10 run/receiving yards and 6 for touchdowns).
| RUNNING BACK PER GAME NUMBERS, 2017 | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Player | G | Run | No | Rec | Total | TD | FF |
| Todd Gurley, LAR | 15 | 87.0 | 4.3 | 52.5 | 139.5 | 1.27 | 21.6 |
| Ezekiel Elliott, Dall. | 10 | 98.3 | 2.6 | 26.9 | 125.2 | .90 | 17.9 |
| LeVeon Bell, Pitt. | 15 | 86.1 | 5.7 | 43.7 | 129.7 | .73 | 17.4 |
| Alvin Kamara, N.O. | 13 | 51.5 | 5.5 | 57.7 | 109.2 | 1.00 | 16.9 |
| Kareem Hunt, K.C. | 15 | 86.1 | 3.5 | 30.3 | 116.5 | .67 | 15.6 |
| Leonard Fournette, Jac. | 13 | 80.0 | 2.8 | 23.2 | 103.2 | .77 | 14.9 |
| Melvin Gordon, LAC | 16 | 69.1 | 3.6 | 29.8 | 98.8 | .75 | 14.4 |
| Mark Ingram, N.O. | 16 | 70.3 | 3.6 | 26.0 | 96.3 | .75 | 14.1 |
| Dion Lewis, N.E. | 11 | 72.5 | 2.3 | 15.6 | 88.1 | .82 | 13.7 |
| LeSean McCoy, Buff. | 16 | 71.1 | 3.7 | 28.0 | 99.1 | .50 | 12.9 |
| Devonta Freeman, Atl. | 14 | 61.8 | 2.6 | 22.6 | 84.4 | .57 | 11.9 |
| Chris Thompson, Wash. | 10 | 29.4 | 3.9 | 51.0 | 80.4 | .60 | 11.6 |
| Latavius Murray, Minn. | 12 | 67.0 | 1.1 | 7.9 | 74.9 | .67 | 11.5 |
| Jordan Howard, Chi. | 16 | 70.1 | 1.4 | 7.8 | 77.9 | .56 | 11.2 |
| Carlos Hyde, S.F. | 16 | 58.6 | 3.7 | 21.9 | 80.5 | .50 | 11.1 |
| Alex Collins, Balt. | 13 | 65.3 | 1.8 | 14.4 | 79.7 | .46 | 10.7 |
| Jerick McKinnon, Minn. | 12 | 45.3 | 3.6 | 31.8 | 77.1 | .42 | 10.2 |
| Rex Burkhead, N.E. | 10 | 26.4 | 3.0 | 25.4 | 51.8 | .80 | 10.0 |
| Orleans Darkwa, NYG | 11 | 62.5 | 1.5 | 9.4 | 71.9 | .45 | 9.9 |
| Marshawn Lynch, Oak. | 15 | 59.4 | 1.3 | 10.1 | 69.5 | .47 | 9.7 |
| Christian McCaffrey, Car. | 16 | 27.2 | 5.0 | 40.7 | 67.9 | .44 | 9.4 |
| C.J. Anderson, Den. | 16 | 62.9 | 1.8 | 14.0 | 76.9 | .25 | 9.2 |
| Duke Johnson, Clev. | 16 | 21.8 | 4.6 | 43.3 | 65.1 | .44 | 9.1 |
| DeMarco Murray, Tenn. | 15 | 43.9 | 2.6 | 17.7 | 61.7 | .47 | 9.0 |
| Bilal Powell, NYJ | 15 | 51.5 | 1.5 | 11.3 | 62.8 | .33 | 8.3 |
| Tevin Coleman, Atl. | 13 | 37.5 | 2.0 | 21.8 | 59.4 | .38 | 8.2 |
| Joe Mixon, Cin. | 14 | 44.7 | 2.1 | 20.5 | 65.2 | .29 | 8.2 |
| Ameer Abdullah, Det. | 11 | 45.9 | 1.8 | 12.1 | 58.0 | .36 | 8.0 |
| Jonathan Stewart, Car. | 15 | 45.3 | .5 | 3.5 | 48.8 | .47 | 7.7 |
| Javorius Allen, Balt. | 16 | 36.9 | 2.9 | 15.6 | 52.6 | .38 | 7.5 |
| Isaiah Crowell, Clev. | 16 | 53.3 | 1.8 | 11.4 | 64.7 | .13 | 7.2 |
| Matt Forte, NYJ | 12 | 31.8 | 3.1 | 24.4 | 56.2 | .25 | 7.1 |
| Derrick Henry, Tenn. | 15 | 46.2 | .7 | 4.7 | 50.9 | .33 | 7.1 |
| Giovani Bernard, Cin. | 16 | 28.6 | 2.7 | 24.3 | 52.9 | .25 | 6.8 |
| Theo Riddick, Det. | 16 | 17.9 | 3.3 | 27.8 | 45.6 | .31 | 6.4 |
| LeGarrette Blount, Phil. | 16 | 47.9 | .5 | 3.1 | 51.0 | .19 | 6.2 |
| Tarik Cohen, Chi. | 16 | 23.1 | 3.3 | 22.4 | 45.5 | .25 | 6.1 |
| James White, N.E. | 14 | 12.2 | 4.0 | 30.6 | 42.9 | .21 | 5.6 |
| Matt Breida, S.F. | 16 | 29.1 | 1.3 | 11.3 | 40.3 | .19 | 5.2 |
| Corey Clement, Phil. | 16 | 20.1 | .6 | 7.7 | 27.8 | .38 | 5.0 |
| Devontae Booker, Den. | 13 | 23.0 | 2.3 | 21.2 | 44.2 | .08 | 4.9 |
| Shane Vereen, NYG | 16 | 10.3 | 2.8 | 15.8 | 26.1 | .00 | 2.6 |
Freeman is 27, working behind an upgraded line and (I think) a lesser No. 2 behind in him in what should be one of the league's better offenses. I suspect he'll end up on one or two of my teams. In PPR, he might very well be a top-12 or 15 back.
--Andy Richardson