Terron Ward

Week 9 at Tampa Bay
Terron Ward rushed six times for 46 yards and caught his only target for 11 yards as the Falcons came from behind to beat the Packers in Week 8. Ward is currently serving as Devonta Freeman's backup with Tevin Coleman out with a hamstring injury. The Falcons are playing on a short week, so Coleman is unlikely to return Thursday night when the team visits the Bucs. Thus, Ward will remain Atlanta's No. 2 back until Coleman returns.

Ward is a hard runner who broke several tackles on his way to a 26-yard run last week versus Green Bay. He could see his workload increase this Thursday night as the Falcons look to avoid overusing Freeman (who reportedly is dealing with a hip pointer). That said, Ward ranks as our RB29 for Week 9 and is a risky fantasy play. He's only worth the gamble if you're desperate at running back, but he'll be a touchdown-dependent play in Week 9.

Fantasy Upside
Terron Ward made headlines last year as a player who turned heads in training camp. He was rewarded for his efforts with a roster spot and wound up playing in 13 games for the Falcons, rushing 29 times for 95 yards with one touchdown. If there is an injury, Ward is third on the team’s depth chart and could carve out a bigger role for himself as a complement to either Devonta Freeman or Tevin Coleman.

Fantasy Downside
As previously noted, unless there’s an injury to Freeman or Coleman, Ward isn’t going to see an increased role in Kyle Shanahan’s offense. Even then, it’s unlikely Ward makes enough of an impact to hold any sort of fantasy value. Coleman only played 12 games a year ago due to injury and Ward received just 29 carries total on the year. It would take both Freeman and Coleman going down for Ward to jump onto the fantasy radar.

2016 Bottom Line
Ward saw 205 snaps in 2015, with 114 coming on offense. He ranks as our 97th overall back and should be avoided on draft night. If you own Freeman or Coleman, just be aware that Ward is the next back off the bench in Atlanta. Otherwise, you’re not going to hear much from the former Oregon State product in 2016.