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Devonta Freeman 2019 Fantasy Football Preview

Devonta Freeman is getting no respect in fantasy circles this year after missing most of 2018 with injury. However, his outlook is as good as ever for 2019.
Devonta Freeman

It wasn’t long ago that Devonta Freeman was a top running back in the NFL. The Atlanta Falcons sure felt that way, signing him to a massive five-year, $41.25 million extension prior to the 2017 season. He was at the top of fantasy football draft boards, and a consensus first-round pick. It’s all been downhill since then, as injuries have hampered his last few years. If he shakes them off, Freeman could be one of the biggest values in fantasy drafts this season.

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2019 Fantasy Football Preview: Devonta Freeman

Recent Injury History

Freeman only appeared in two games last season for the Falcons. He went down Week One with a groin injury. He came back Week Five, but the team ultimately found out the injury was worse than they thought, and he went to injured reserve. It was the second year in a row that Freeman didn’t play a full season due to injury.

He suffered a concussion in Week 10 of 2017 against the Dallas Cowboys. This sidelined him for most of that game, and then another two weeks. Later, Freeman admitted that he played through a knee injury at the end of the season. This probably explains his poor finish, where he only rushed for 58 yards combined during the final two games.

Still, even with missing two games, and playing at less than 100 percent, Freeman was able to secure the RB13 spot in standard leagues. With a full offseason to recover under his belt, Freeman should be back and more involved than ever, since his backfield mate, Tevin Coleman is now playing for the San Francisco 49ers.

Freeman’s Track Record

2016 was the last time Freeman played a full season, and he played extremely well. He was the RB6, averaging almost 14.5 points a game.

Part of what makes Freeman so great is his dual-threat ability. When looking at his rushing stats alone, they aren’t anything special. In 2016, he had 1,079. However, he added 462 receiving yards, putting him over 1,500 all-purpose yards. Tack on his 13 touchdowns and he shows that he is a threat to blow up the stat sheet any week.

Some might be surprised to learn that Freeman was actually the RB1 OVR in both standard and PPR leagues for 2015. Granted, 2015 was a weird year for running backs, where basically all of the elites went down by the end of the year. The top-five were Freeman, Adrian Peterson, Doug Martin, DeAngelo Williams, and rookie Todd Gurley. For further perspective, Lamar Miller and Chris Ivory were in the top-ten. Still, Freeman showed that he can lead the pack and put up enough points to win someone their league.

Devonta Freeman Average Draft Position

If Freeman can put his injuries behind him, he can blow his ADP out of the water. His current PPR rating of 28 OVR or RB13 is frankly ludicrous. Even with the “injury risk” he carries, he is ranked well-behind other running backs with similar red flags. Dalvin Cook carries a 21 OVR price, and Leonard Fournette, who is suspended whenever he isn’t injured, is ranked as 23 OVR. Nick Chubb is ranked right after him, and he has a good chance to only start half of the year.

Add that to the fact that Coleman is gone, which means Freeman could get his biggest workload yet. Check out these fantasy numbers Freeman has put up when he doesn’t have to share the field with Coleman:

Seeing Coleman in action for almost a full season showed just how much better Freeman is than him. The Falcons tried still using a similar two-back committee without Freeman, involving Ito Smith. However, the eye test alone shows that Smith was a huge downgrade to Coleman. So, this means that if the Falcons want their best personnel on the field, Freeman will probably get more carries than ever, as this backfield turns into more of a one-man show.

Draft Freeman and laugh all the way to a championship.

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Ryan Hawks, Managing Editor

Ryan Hawks, Managing Editor

Ryan is a lifelong Raider fan living in San Diego. His NFL fanaticism began when he somehow got a hold of an LA Raiders sweater. He started wearing when the sleeves were way too long and kept wearing until they barely passed his elbows. He is also a Final Fantasy Fanatic and basically dedicates all of his free time to playing Final Fantasy Brave Exvius. In addition to sports writing, he also loves reading and writing fiction. His favorite author is Anne Rice. Ryan is also very involved in education and works as a Tutor at Southwestern Community College in Chula Vista as his day job. He is currently attending JFKU for his MA in Sport Psychology Find him on Twitter @RyanWorldEater.

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