Devonta Freeman, Tevin Coleman 'absolutely battling' for Falcons' RB1 job

Without a doubt, there will be some spirited, hard-fought competition between these two. Head coach Dan Quinn noted Tevin Coleman and Devonta Freeman are “absolutely battling for it,” and at present, it’s difficult to forecast how the situation will unfold.

For now, as Coleman eases his way into the organization, Freeman remains at the top of the depth chart. And while that could change at any time, it’d take quite an effort from Coleman to reshuffle the deck.

On Freeman: “He’s got terrific hands coming out of the backfield,” Quinn said. “What a weapon that can be. He runs good routes and has really good hands.”

A big reason why the Falcons like Coleman is his knowledge of the zone-blocking scheme. As a senior at Indiana he darted for more than 2,000 yards — many of which came from his ability to read blocks and use his “one-cut-and-go” move to break free. Kyle Shanahan’s system will look a lot like the one Coleman studied at Indiana, at least from his perspective.

The Falcons used a 3rd round pick on Coleman, which probably means that they weren't completely content with their stable of running backs. The new regime inherited Freeman, so his standing isn't exactly clear. We believe Coleman will end up with most of the carries, but that Freeman will finish with more receptions. This is a murky situation at this point.