Tevin Coleman

Despite his familiarity with Kyle Shanahan’s offense, Coleman was a disappointment during his two seasons in San Francisco, apart from the 2019 game against Carolina where he scored four of his seven TDs in a Niners uniform. He was then injured or simply benched for much of 2020, playing nearly as many snaps on special teams (59) as on offense (63) in his eight games. Shanahan may have thought Coleman was washed up, but the 28-year-old is now headed to the Jets after they hired former Shanahan assistant Mike LaFleur as offensive coordinator. Coleman had to settle for a one-year, $1.1 million contract with only $400,00 guaranteed and another $800,000 in incentives — a modest deal that suggests he might not make the Week 1 roster if he looks a step slow at training camp. On the other hand, Coleman has scheme familiarity working in his favor, and reports from OTAs had him splitting first-team reps with Ty Johnson and fourth-round rookie Michael Carter, for whatever that’s worth. The Jets also have 2020 fourth-rounder La’Mical Perine in the mix for carries, potentially setting up a three- or four-man committee in what’s highly unlikely to be an efficient offense. Coleman might be the thumper and goal-line guy, but relying on touchdowns on a bad team isn’t a conventional path to useful fantasy production.

Coleman's first season in San Francisco was disappointing to say the least. An ankle injury suffered Week 1 cost him the following two games, and while he had a promising stretch after returning - 309 rushing yards and five touchdowns in the next four games - his playing time dwindled late in the season once Raheem Mostert emerged as a dynamic force. Coleman surprised with 105 yards and two scores in a playoff win over the Vikings, but he did little throughout the rest of the postseason. His speed in the open field remains impressive, but the sixth-year back really doesn't bring much else to the table, as defenders have little difficulty getting their hands on him or bringing him down. Coleman's average of 1.4 rushing yards after contact was the fewest in the league, following a poor 1.8 showing in 2018. Matt Breida's departure opens some snaps behind Mostert, but Jerick McKinnon, Jeff Wilson and a few undrafted rookies will also compete for roles. Coleman can still be useful in Kyle Shanahan's offense, but we can't count on a big workload.

Second verse, same as the first. Last year, coach Kyle Shanahan brought in Jerick McKinnon, a fast, athletic back who was comfortable working in a timeshare. Shanahan did it again this offseason when he brought in Coleman (a fast, athletic back who's comfortable working in a timeshare) from his old Atlanta stomping grounds. The former Falcon earned his free-agent payday by posting career highs in rushing yards and YPC and playing 16 games for the first time in 2018. His best trait is his blistering speed in open space, and Shanahan's system is perfect for getting him the ball with plenty of green in front of him. In his last season under his old/new coach, Coleman averaged an eye-popping 10.5 yards per target, a figure that ranked sixth in the league among all players (not just running backs). While he could be a big-play weapon again with the Niners, how many touches Coleman gets is a difficult question. McKinnon could be available at some point this season, and Matt Breida has shown the last two years he's a good fit for the Shanahan offense as well.

Coleman ran for a career-high 628 yards in 2017, but it's tough to rate his overall performance as a step forward. His 4.0 YPC was a career low, and his receiving numbers also took a slight tumble as new offensive coordinator Steve Sarkisian failed to put Coleman in a position to use his explosive speed in the open field as often as Kyle Shanahan had. Heading into his fourth NFL season, Coleman still hasn't quite established that he's capable of being a lead back, after getting mixed results last season while Devonta Freeman was sidelined. Coleman's wheels are undeniable, but he lacks the vision or elusiveness to make the best use of his straight-line speed, and despite a solid frame he doesn't run with a lot of strength or physicality, resulting in fewer broken tackles than top-tier running backs create. He did at least play in a career-high 15 games last season, mostly avoiding the minor injuries that cut into his first two NFL campaigns. With Freeman still getting most of the snaps and touches in Atlanta's backfield, Coleman is unlikely to engineer a breakout season in the final year of his rookie contract unless his teammate misses significant time.

The third-year back had a breakthrough performance in 2016, scoring 11 total touchdowns on only 149 touches as he emerged as one of the Falcons' big-play options during their Super Bowl run. Coleman's game-breaking speed in the open field his primary asset, as he still flashes the 4.44 40-yard time he recorded at the 2015 Combine, and his offseason work to become a more complete back also paid off with a big increase in his role as a pass catcher. After catching only two passes as a rookie, Coleman hauled in 31 of 40 targets and used that speed to pile up 13.6 yards per catch. Unfortunately, health issues once again kept him from playing a full schedule, as a hamstring strain cost the 24-year-old three games in the middle of the season. Despite his 6-1, 210-pound frame, Coleman isn't a particularly physical runner, and his skill set is more of a match for Devonta Freeman's than a complement, but that duplication was used very effectively by offensive coordinator Kyle Shanahan in 2016 as he kept defenses from guessing which back would get which assignment on any particular play. Whether new coordinator Steve Sarkisian can keep that approach intact will go a long way towards determining whether Coleman can repeat, or even improve upon, last year's production.

When camps opened last summer, Coleman was viewed as the front-runner in the Atlanta backfield, with Devonta Freeman the secondary option. Coleman was the starter on opening night, but a rib injury knocked him back and Freeman wound up taking the job and running with it. Coleman didn't help his own cause with some occasional fumbling issues. This doesn't mean things can't flip in 2016. Coleman averaged a solid 4.5 per carry as a rookie and Freeman's play dipped significantly in the second half of the year. We know any starting back in a Kyle Shahahan offense can be a bundle of fun, which means at minimum, Coleman is one of the highest-upside backups in the league. Keep an eye on him.

While first-round picks Todd Gurley and Melvin Gordon are no slouches, Coleman could be the most exciting back selected in this year's draft, as he can turn any touch into a touchdown. In fact, half of his 28 career rushing TDs at Indiana came on runs of 40 or more yards. While he doesn't have ideal size for a feature back at 5-11, 206, Coleman is incredibly explosive, hitting holes and getting through to the second level before the defense knows what hit it, and his 4.39 time in the 40-yard dash isn't just a track mirage. He also flashes great elusiveness, slipping tackles and changing direction without slowing, and when he does finally run out of room he isn't afraid to lower his pads and fight for extra yards. His receiving skills are also solid, but Coleman's ability to outrun everyone in college did mask some deficiencies, and his vision and patience will need some work for him to take full advantage of his gifts in the NFL. Second-year back Devonta Freeman, a similarly slippery but undersized runner, has the incumbent's advantage in a training camp battle for the top spot in the backfield, and holdover Antone Smith will also see some touches, but Coleman's game-changing speed should make it difficult to keep him off the field.