RADIO
BALLER MOVE: Target Around ~230 Overall
CURRENT ADP: ~249
ANALYSIS: New year, new backfield, new coach. Todd Gurley is gone and so is Julio Jones. The Falcons will establish a new identity on offense, especially in the running game with a void at running back. While Mike Davis is the presumptive favorite to start, it's doubtful he resembles a workhorse back. Even last year in a full-time role for Carolina with Christian McCaffrey sidelined most of the year, Davis only averaged 11 carries per game. There's room for another tailback to make noise.
The RB2 on this team appears to be Ollison now that Ito Smith is gone. He scored four times as a rookie in 2019 before falling off the map in 2020 with one carry all season. The arrival of Arthur Smith may breathe new life into his value, though. Keep in mind that Smith comes over from Tennessee, where the lead back is a fellow by the name of Derrick Henry. If you're not familiar, he's in the "big back" mold at 6'3", 247 lb. Ollison doesn't stand quite that tall at only 231 pounds but he is a bruiser just the same. That is a perfect fit for this offense which frequents the red zone and prefers to run it there.
Todd Gurley was a disappointment last year because his production didn't match name value but one thing he did was score touchdowns with nine in 15 games. That's because he was fifth in the league in red-zone rush attempts. If Ollison inherits just half of those valuable carries, he can be a consistent scoring threat that provides value in standard leagues. Ollison doesn't have the juice to be a primary ball-carrier but he's the type of late RB that will actually produce points rather than rotting on the bench.
UPDATE: The Falcons waived Javian Hawkins and released D'Onta Foreman, leaving just Ollison and Cordarrelle Patterson as the lone backs behind Mike Davis in Atlanta. Ollison figures to work ahead of Patterson as the primary backup, and as noted above, there's room for two productive backs in this offense.
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