Getty Atlanta Falcons RB Tevin Coleman
For any fantasy football owners who currently hold Atlanta Falcons RB Tevin Coleman on their roster, it’s been a strange few weeks. After Devonta Freeman was placed on injured reserve, all signs pointed to a monster stretch for Coleman.
Unfortunately, Coleman has largely been held in check in recent weeks. He’s seen his carries drop (17 over the past two games and 29 the two weeks prior), his yards per carry have fallen and he’s not finding the end zone. Coleman was bailed out in Week 6 by scoring a six-yard receiving touchdown, but that was his only catch and he had 10 carries for just 35 yards.
A large part of this is due to the emergence of Ito Smith, making his situation tough to gauge. Let’s break down the start-sit topic or Coleman against the New York Giants in Week 7.
Key Stats and Tevin Coleman’s Fantasy Outlook
I’ll break down the matchup, recent production and a few other key numbers. All information on fantasy points and statistics for defense vs. position are from ESPN.
- New York Giants vs. running backs in 2018: 130 attempts, 518 yards, 34 receptions, 282 receiving yards, nine total touchdowns (No. 10 mst fantasy points per game)
- Coleman has gone from playing 78 percent of the snaps in Week 3 to 57 percent in Week 6, per Football Outsiders
- Coleman narrowly out-snapped Smith 38-31 last game
While Coleman’s production hasn’t been great, there’s quite a bit that stands out about the situation. Specifically, his backfield mate in Smith hasn’t exactly excelled either. In Week 6, he totaled just 22 yards on 11 carries, but a touchdown bailed him out.
Should You Start or Sit Tevin Coleman?
The loss of work is brutal for Coleman and fantasy football owners alike. The 25-year-old back has shown impressive upside at various points throughout his NFL career, but the coaching staff seems to like Smith. When factoring in the current situation based on workload and production, it’s tough to argue that Coleman is a good starting option.
I do believe that you should still use him in any league with 14-plus teams. On that same note, 12-team leagues are likely to have better options in almost all cases. But if you simply have no other options, using the Falcons current starter isn’t horrible considering the great matchup and likelihood that he could post a solid all-around stat line against a poor Giants defense.
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