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You might be wondering just how much Tevin Coleman threatens Freeman’s 2016 fantasy football outlook. Well, let’s start with a better question …

Who actually threatens Freeman’s outlook more: Coleman, or Freeman himself?

Freeman melted fantasy owners’ faces with 141 yards and 3 TDs on 30 carries in his 1st start after Coleman broke a rib against the Giants in Week 2 last season. And Freeman added 5 catches for 52 yards to inebriate PPR owners even further.

He obviously can’t do that again, we all thought.

So Freeman ripped off another 3 TDs the following week against Houston, while catching 5 more balls for 81 yards. Then came 27-153-1 rushing and 7-44 receiving in a win over Washington. And then 13-100-1 rushing, 8-56-1 receiving at New Orleans. Plus 25-116 and 2-14 in what qualified as a “down” game at Tennessee.

By that Titans contest, most of us weren’t sure what to do with Freeman in fantasy? Sell high? But almost everyone remained wary of his TD bubble. Hold? But he might implode. Avoid his exorbitant DFS price this week? But that already backfired on me. Twice.

Things got a lot worse for Freeman after that, though.

The 1st 8 games found him averaging 4.7 yards per carry, with a total rushing line of 152-709-9. He added 40-353-1 receiving on 52 targets.

Over the final 7 contests (he lost Week 12 to a concussion), Freeman averaged a measly 3.1 yards per rush, with 33-225-2 receiving on 45 targets. That marked a dip from 8.8 yards per catch to 6.8 in the season’s 2nd half.

A super-easy 1st half schedule turned much tougher. Atlanta’s 1st 6 opponents all ranked 17th or worse in yards per carry allowed for the season. Six of the 1st 7 rated 21st or worse in Football Outsiders’ run-defense rankings. Then 5 of Freeman’s next 6 opponents ranked 12th or better in YPC allowed, and just 2 of the final 7 ranked outside the top 17 vs. the run, according to FO.

Freeman also might’ve worn down. After a hamstring injury slowed him in the preseason, he appeared on the injury report twice for a toe issue and then in Week 17 with a knee problem -- in addition to the concussion that claimed a game. Freeman headed into all other games probable, but the dings can add up, especially for a 1st-time NFL starter.

And that’s where Coleman comes in.

We’ve read multiple times this offseason about how the Falcons remain high on Coleman and view the pair as a nice backfield combo.

HC Dan Quinn told the Atlanta Journal Constitution in March that Coleman’s “downhill” style and speed stand out as his top assets.

He added: “Free is different, where some of the damage that Freeman does is when he catches (passes). He can also be used as a receiver at times, because he’s got that kind of speed.”

It’s interesting that Quinn spotlighted Coleman’s running and Freeman’s receiving, because that might become the crux of their work split.

That’s not to say we’re betting right now on Coleman garnering more carries than Freeman this year. We’ll get to those specifics when our 2016 projections hit the site in June. But we can’t forget that the current coaching staff drafted Coleman in Round 3 last year, with Freeman already on the roster. Coleman opened the year as the starter and carried 20 times to Freeman’s 10 in the opening win over Philly, before he suffered the rib injury in Week 2. This is not a player the Falcons view as mere depth.

It’s also important to remember, however, that nearly zero NFL backflelds now contain a true workhorse. Just 13 of last year’s top 24 PPR backs reached 200 rushing attempts. That was down from 16 in 2014 and 18 in 2013. Even on the non-PPR side, just 14 of last season’s top 24 reached 200 carries.

Freeman ranked 4th in the league in rushing attempts last year and 5th in carries per game. But even if he sees a big cut in that area, he’ll remain among the team’s most attractive pass-catchers. Behind Julio Jones, the Falcons boast a pair of possession types in free-agent addition Mohamed Sanu and 2nd-year slot man Justin Hardy. They join limited TE Jacob Tamme and rookie TE Austin Hooper.

Freeman finished last season 2nd on the team in targets and caught 14 more passes than any Falcon not named after a Spanish month. Among NFL RBs, only Danny Woodhead and Theo Riddick beat Freeman in targets, receptions and receiving yards in 2015. Coleman caught just 2 of 11 targets across his 12 games after modest receiving success in college.

Draft Sharks Bottom Line:

A good summer for Tevin Coleman could pull the 2nd-year back even -- or close to it -- with Freeman in Atlanta’s backfield rushing split. That had us pessimistic on the 2015 revelation when this offseason began.

But when you run the numbers, Atlanta has plenty of room for both backs to get a nice share of carries. And Freeman’s receiving makes it nearly impossible to project him outside of the top 10 RBs in PPR formats.

There certainly might be players behind him with higher fantasy ceilings, and we ultimately won’t know exactly what to expect from this workload split until we see it in action. We’ll also have to keep an eye on the injury situations for both Freeman and Coleman, after hamstring issues dogged both players in summer 2015.

But this 3rd-year back belongs in the 2nd-round mix of PPR drafts and RB1 contention across formats.

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