Atlanta Falcons Need to Either Play 'Big Play' Antone Smith More or Trade Him

For the majority of his career Atlanta Falcons running back Antone Smith has been a fringe player. He was one of those guys that was not considered good enough to carve out a starting role, but good enough to warrant a spot on the roster as a special teams ace where he has played well.

This season, his fifth in the league, he has suddenly become much more than just a special teams guy which leads to one question--if they aren't going to use him more why not trade him?

via Bleacher Report

The quick answer is because he's old (29) and doesn't have much of a resume. However, what he's done this season has been extraordinary.Through six games he has only had 13 carries for 126 yards and 10 receptions for 220. He's had runs of 38 and 48 yards along with receptions of 54, 74, and 41 yards.

According to ProFootballFocus he leads the league in elusiveness prior to last week's game with the Bears having forced 10 missed tackles in 17 touches. He was No. 4 in breakaway percentage with 71 percent of his rushing total coming after he makes contact. On the seven pass plays he was held in to block he has not allowed anyone to pressure Matt Ryan.

His small sample size helps lead to such a high rating, but if he is doing so well why not play him more?

Oh--and by the way, he leads the team in touchdowns with five.

If the team does not want to give him a few more carries they should look in to trading him. A run-starved team may be willing to give up a middle round pick to get some much needed help for their backfield.

Otherwise, even though he is an important special teams player he's kind of being wasted.

[PFF]

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