Since the departure of Michael Turner in 2013, the Atlanta Falcons have seen their running attack diminish. Instead of addressing the position in the 2013 NFL draft, general manager, Thomas Dimitroff elected to go with a proven rusher in that of Steven Jackson. Jackson had a tremendous career while with the St. Louis Rams, but that luck ran out while with Atlanta.
The Jackson experiment lasted a whopping two seasons. He saw his eight-year streak of 1,000 yards plus per-year, end, and totaled just 543 yards on the ground in 2013 and 707 in 2015. After his very aggravating 2013 season in which injuries held him back, the Falcons selected running back, Devonta Freeman in the 2014 NFL draft in hopes of giving the Falcons a change-of-pace out of the backfield.