Should Jerious Norwood be backing up Michael Turner? No. He should be starting. Maybe not ahead of Turner, but there are plenty of teams that could use Norwood as their #1.

I’ve liked Jerious ever since 2006, when he was the third-down back for the Falcons, getting a few touches and averaging 6.4 yards/carry. At 5′11″, 202, Norwood’s always reminded me of Steven Jackson: he’s a power runner with an up-and-down style; he’s a bull, and has to have one of the strongest set of legs in the league.

The problem is that there really isn’t anything to say except, “He’s good; start him.”

With a career average of 6.2 yards/carry, Norwood’s a guy whom you draft late and stash on your bench. He ran for 93 yards in the Falcons’ season opener, and he’ll continue to vulture carries as the season progresses. But the stat that you’ve really got to look at is Turner’s carry total for Week One: 22. Going into Sunday’s game, Turner averaged about 4 carries/start. He’d carried 230 times over the course of 4 seasons with the Chargers, never rushing more than 80 times in a single season.

Now that doesn’t mean that he’ll wear down, break down, etc., but it’s enough of a question mark that Norwood has to be on your radar. Of course you can also make the point that Norwood’s been given a backup’s work total, and that, should his carries double or triple, he’s as good of a bet for a hamstring injury as Turner. Fair enough. But my point is that you draft both of these guys and handcuff them.

Over a full season, Norwood’s a lock for 1,200 yards and 10 touchdowns. Last week Mike Smith said that “We anticipate Jerious to be a very integral part of our offense. We feel like we have to have two guys who can carry the load. Jerious and Michael created quite a tandem in terms of what they create for defensive coordinators.” They won’t say how they’re going to use him, and they definitely won’t say that Norwood and Turner are 1 and 1A, but the subtext is clear: Norwood is going to challenge Turner for carries; he’s going to be on the field in close games.

As a third-round pick in 2006, Norwood’s career is right on path. Like all young running backs, here’s a guy who’s waiting for an injury to the starter. He’s got decent hands, and consider this stat: over 216 career carries, Norwood’s fumbled zero times. He has no career fumbles, and half of his receptions have gone for first downs.

I just think that the Falcons are doing this thing backward. Turner, with his size and running style, is a third-down back. He runs a great screen, and he’s a solid blocker. But Norwood’s an every-down guy.