The Falcons Should Think Cheap When It Comes To Running Back

The Atlanta Falcons will be shopping for a running back. That's no great secret.

What comes up again and again, here and elsewhere, is the idea of going for a free agent running back. Ahmad Bradshaw. Reggie Bush. Steven Jackson.

What all these players have in common, of course, is a history of success in the NFL. When you think about replacing Michael Turner, one of the great backs in the team's history, you want it to be a player who you know will give you quality runs. But the NFL isn't the league of expensive free agent running backs anymore, and the Falcons aren't a team built around a power ground game.

If this team can't find a low-priced option or a draft pick to fill Turner's shoes, they've made a mistake. It's unlikely that anyone they get is going to be as good as Turner in his prime, but that's not the point. The point is that a mid-round draft pick may be able to put up better numbers than the Burner did in 2012 as part of a running back platoon while not stressing the team's already slim cap space. For a team built first and foremost to pass the football, that's enough.

Don't spend a lot of money on running backs, is what i'm saying. It's not that kind of league anymore.