Fantasy Upside
Devonta Freeman emerged as a fantasy star last season but Tevin Coleman was slated to be the Falcons' lead back before suffering a ribs injury in Week 2. By the time Coleman returned, Freeman was well on his way to having a career year. Coleman capped off his rookie season by rushing 87 times for 392 yards with one touchdown. He's currently behind Freeman on Atlanta's depth chart but the Falcons' coaching staff said this offseason that they want to reduce Freeman's workload in 2016. That means more touches for Coleman, who was drafted by the current regime in Atlanta, whereas Freeman was not. Coleman has homerun speed and is capable of taking it to the house every time he touches the ball. If Freeman suffers an injury, Coleman would be the RB1.
Fantasy Downside
The ribs injury wasn't the only thing that held Coleman back in 2015, as he also fumbled three times on the season. Despite Dan Quinn's insistence that Coleman will have a bigger workload this year, Freeman remains the clear-cut RB1 in Atlanta. Plus, Freeman was a significant part of the passing game last season, whereas Coleman only caught two passes for 14 yards on 11 targets. If Freeman stays healthy, Coleman will be reduced to a complementary role in 2016.
2016 Bottom Line
Coleman will remain stuck behind Freeman but at the very least, he should be one of the top handcuffs off the board this year. He needs to cut down on the turnovers and it'll be interesting to see if the Falcons make him a bigger part of the passing game, but he'll be first in line to receive carries if Freeman goes down. Ranked as our RB39, Coleman's current ADP is 14.02 in 10-team standard formats and 11.12 in 12-team leagues. If you nab Freeman early, the smart play would be to take Coleman as a handcuff late. If Freeman stays healthy, Coleman will take up a roster spot but at least Freeman owners will have piece of mind.