Atlanta Falcons: Devonta Freeman Poised for Success in Year 3
Running back Devonta Freeman had a breakout year in 2015. Year 2 in the zone-blocking scheme spells nothing but success for the talented performer.
Devonta Freeman took the NFL by storm in the early parts of the 2015 season. His performances even reached heights that drew comparisons to LaDainian Tomlinson. The young back was much improved in his second year with the team, and first under Kyle Shanahan’s zone blocking scheme.
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Freeman was selected in fourth round of the 2014 draft out of Florida State. In his first year with the team, Freeman saw limited action on the field as he backed veteran running back Steven Jackson. The team was in flux and coming to the end of an era as they tried to find the answers that would save Mike Smith‘s job and correct the Falcon’s losing ways of those times.
As a rookie, Freeman played in all 16 games but did not start a contest. He finished with 248 yards rushing and one touchdown on 65 carries while also totaling 30 receptions for 225 yards and one score.
This past season, he was arguably the most improved player in the entire league. After an intense camp battle with rookie Tevin Coleman, Freeman lost the starting job. However Coleman was injured early on in the season and Freeman gained the starting job back. He immediately showed his dual threat potential through the new offense posting 141 rushing yards and 3 touchdowns along with 52 receiving yards in his first full start against the Dallas Cowboys in Week 3.
After this Freeman went on a complete tear over the next few weeks rushing for at least 100 yards in three of the next four games while posting six touchdowns overall over that span. Over the final eight weeks of the season, Freeman fell off with his stellar performance with a low of 12 rushing yards coming in a stinging loss to the San Francisco 49ers.
Freeman never cracked 100 rushing yards after that point and only scored four total touchdowns over the span as well. If Freeman’s production would have been consistent with his fast start, he could have easily had one of the greatest rushing seasons in Atlanta Falcons history.
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Despite the sluggish finish, the second-year pro totaled 1,634 yards from scrimmage in 15 games and tied for the NFL lead with 14 total touchdowns.
One could argue that Freeman’s lack of production in the second half of the season came from poor offensive line play as the zone-blocking scheme relies on athletic linemen to run and produce. If there is no production from the offensive line then the running back position suffers as well.
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Devonta Freeman produced at levels that the Falcons had not seen since the days of Michael Turner. And he did all of this with a lack luster interior line. The Atlanta Falcons are looking to upgrade their weak points across the offensive line this offseason, and as Shanahan gets the pieces that he needs, look for Freeman to take his production to the next level.