Arthur Smith has committed the cardinal sin of making fantasy football fans look rational

By its very nature, even playing fantasy football could be considered irrational.

There is little logic behind assorting what are essentially virtual trading cards into a not-so-specific order, hoping you picked the right “hand” that will give you the most amount of points. Yet, fantasy managers like me write fantasy columns on a weekly basis, trying to make educated guesses by reading the tea leaves of simmering league trends. It’s just the name of the game.

One of the prevailing conversations this season has been about Arthur Smith. The Atlanta Falcons head coach boasts a roster that features three recent top-eight draft picks on offense — Kyle Pitts, Drake London, and rookie phenom Bijan Robinson. Yet this Falcons offense (read: his) ranks just 25th in scoring at 18.5 points a game. Atlanta is just 24th in DVOA offensive efficiency (it’s barely better than the woeful Bears, dearest readers) and has scored less than 20 points three times. Smith’s Falcons are also only 4-5, and you know what? They should be utilizing their offensive players — especially a seemingly generational running back talent like Robinson — so much better.

None of this is new. The fantasy community has been talking about Smith’s misuse of Robinson for the better part of two months. This also happened with Kyle Pitts. I’d say it might happen to the next first-round skill player Smith’s team drafts, but I’m not sure he’ll be around for that pleasure.

Whenever Smith catches wind of the mostly constructive critiques, it feels like he can’t resist lambasting the disconnect between playing a game on the computer and in person. It’s his way of deflecting, of pretending that criticism of the way he uses players like Robinson is, in a way, unwarranted from people on the sidelines.

After the way Smith rationalized Robinson being a de facto decoy on Tuesday, I’m afraid I have to spell it out: he has made inherently irrational fantasy football players look positively brilliant for calling him out time and again. Bravo, sir.

More from The Athletic’s Josh Kendall:

“He [Robinson] played a lot of snaps (against Minnesota), and sometimes, his impact away from the ball can open things up,” Smith said. “For any rookie, the seasons are long. You’re going to have ebbs and flows. We’ll see how this second half of the season goes, but he’s been a huge part of our offense, and he’ll continue to be.”

Wait, I’m sorry. Let’s rewind that.

Since when is it a running back’s job to excel “away from the ball”? Football players like Robinson aren’t supposed to be decoys. They’re not forwards in basketball who play good defense and spot up for corner threes. Their responsibilities are completely different. I can’t believe I have to explain this, but a running back — particularly one drafted in the top eight — literally has to touch the ball to be effective. I mean, sure, they can occasionally block and set up their teammates. They need to. But for the most part, they provide little value to their offense if they’re not bell-cows receiving consistent carries and passes out of the backfield.

The Falcons have run 21 rushing plays inside the 10-yard line all year. Robinson has two touches for four yards. The Falcons have used 20 passing plays inside the 10-yard line all year. Robinson has one reception (and one target) for six yards and a single touchdown. Even Desmond Ridder, the since-benched, turnover-prone signal-caller most responsible for tanking Smith’s offense, has more carries (five) than Robinson in goal-to-go situations. Frankly, it’s a miracle that Robinson’s 714 yards from scrimmage still rank 16th in the NFL despite just over 130 touches spread out over nine games. He must truly be an exceptional player the lost Falcons can’t figure out how to unleash properly.

I’m well aware there probably is a massive chasm of perception and evaluation between fantasy and actual fast, hard-hitting football. How could there not be? But Smith has done the impossible. By talking about his star running back like a role player on a basketball team, he has validated the fantasy football-adjacent criticism lobbed at him every week.

Because that entire conversation clearly extends to his underachieving Falcons and his underachieving offense.

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