It’s going to take a few seasons of seasoning, but the Atlanta Falcons feel they have secured their running back of the future.
Speaking to ESPN, general manager Thomas Dimitroff and head coach Mike Smith couldn’t help but gush over running back Devonta Freeman, whom Atlanta selected in the fourth round of the 2014 NFL Draft.
Smith even went to far as suggest that Freeman could be a feature back for the Falcons.
“Very impressed with his running ability. I think if you look at his size, the first thing that comes to your mind is he may be a change-of-pace back. That is not the case. You said it in terms of being able to run between the tackles. He can catch the ball out of the backfield. He’s a very strong runner. He is shorter in stature, but he has great strength. If you really study him, he’s probably more effective running with the ball between tackles then he is outside. But when he gets outside, he’s able to make people pay because he’s got some good speed.”
Freeman is a very high quality blocker and should see snaps behind Steven Jackson this season. It’s within reason to believe that the Florida State product could be Atlanta’s starting running back in a year or two.