Atlanta Falcons need to draft Alabama’s Najee Harris

Mediocre running back play needs to come to an end for the Atlanta Falcons.

Since Michael Turner‘s last season in 2012, the Atlanta Falcons have yet to find a suitable replacement. Not a single running back that has been on the roster since 2012 could be considered a consistent game-changer like Turner, and this is something that needs to be a key focus in the 2021 NFL Draft.

The team signed a washed-up Steven Jackson in 2013, who only had one 100-yard rushing performance for the team, and didn’t come close to rushing for 1,000 yards either year.

The team then drafted Devonta Freeman and Tevin Coleman in 2014 and 2015 respectively. The two became a decent duo from 2015-2017, putting up respectable numbers and helped the Atlanta Falcons overcome its playoff woes in 2016 and 2017, compiling three playoff wins over this two-season stretch.

However, neither man has the ability to be considered a game-changer like Turner. Consistent injuries for Freeman made him a shell of what he was previously in that three-season stretch, leading to his release in 2019, and Coleman left for the 49ers.

The Atlanta Falcons offense needs a Derrick Henry-type player.

In short, this offense needs a game-changer at the running back position, specifically, somebody like Derrick Henry, Dalvin Cook, and Nick Chubb, who are among the league’s best running backs. Derrick Henry especially has the ability to completely take a game over with his size, ability, and freakish strength.

Alabama’s Najee Harris has proven to be a game-changer over his career at Alabama, especially this year with his 24 touchdowns on the ground and 1,262 yards rushing. He has also proven to be a threat through the air, compiling 10 receiving touchdowns over the last two seasons.

Harris has compiled five total touchdowns in a game twice this season, once against the Gators, and the other against Ole Miss. Overall, he has compiled multiple touchdown games in eight out of the team’s 11 games.

Harris is a running back that can do it all and would be perfect for the Atlanta Falcons, who are in desperate need of elite talent at that position. Todd Gurley is not the runner he used to be, and Ito Smith and Brian Hill are not game-changing runners. The organization compiled four double-digit win seasons in five years with Turner, and the same could happen with Harris.