Back before his team elected not to draft any RBs, new Falcons HC Arthur Smith said he plans a committee approach in the backfield. “We’re not going to have Derrick Henry here,” Smith told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution in April. “So, it’s not like I think we’re going to have Derrick Henry. The reality is that we’ll get multiple backs in here, and we’ll have the way we trust our schemes and the way we teach the details of it, and we’ll commit to it." Mike Davis stands as the clear leader in a group who's next most accomplished rusher is Cordarrelle Patterson. But Patterson will factor in. Atlanta signed Javian Hawkins after the draft. We'll see about Qadree Ollison. And the Falcons could still add pieces. Davis makes for a solid target in current best-ball drafting. Just beware of projecting him too many touches simply because we can't see exactly where else they would go yet.

Has any RB's fantasy outlook improved more than that of Mike Davis through draft weekend? As of this writing (late in Round 6), the Falcons have spent all of their NFL Draft picks and drafted 0 RBs. "It just didn't fall our way," GM Terry Fontenot said of their RB considerations throughout the draft, according to ESPN's Michael Rothstein. That leaves 30-year-old Cordarrelle Patterson as the next most accomplished NFL rusher (167 career carries) behind Davis on the roster, and Atlanta does list Patterson at RB. Qadree Ollison and Tony Brooks-James join them. Fontenot and HC Arthur Smith added that they'll look at undrafted free agents and consider trades, free agents and post-June 1 cuts. So we'll see if the Falcons can add someone better than Davis. He has cleared a big hurdle through draft weekend, though.

The Falcons released RB Ito Smith. A replacement-level player, Smith has averaged just 3.9 yards per carry and 5.7 yards per catch over 3 NFL seasons. His departure, though, leaves Atlanta with only RBs Mike Davis, Qadree Ollison and Tony Brooks-James. The Falcons are an obvious candidate to add a RB in the draft. But if they don't, Davis would be set up for a heavy workload.

The Falcons have agreed to a 2-year, $5.5 million deal with RB Mike Davis, according to NFL Network's Ian Rapoport. It's a sensible signing for an offense with a weak group of RBs. Davis performed solidly in place of Christian McCaffrey with the Panthers last year, including ranking 4th on the team -- and 4th among all NFL RBs -- with 59 receptions. Davis' arrival certainly doesn't preclude Atlanta from making further backfield moves. We'll see whether that includes a pick in the NFL Draft's first 2 days.

Panthers RB Mike Davis (ankle) isn't expected to play vs. the Saints this weekend, ESPN's David Newton reports. So with Davis and Christian McCaffrey out, Carolina will be down to RBs Rodney Smith and Trenton Cannon. Look for Smith to handle the bulk of the work, but the matchup vs. New Orleans' top-ranked RB defense leaves him as an uninspiring fantasy play. WR Curtis Samuel should also continue to play a significant role in the ground game after carrying 7 times for 52 yards last week.

Panthers QB Teddy Bridgewater (knee) was a full participant in Wednesday's practice, putting him on track to return for this weekend's game against the Vikings. He'll be just a mid-range QB2 for that one. But, despite QB P.J. Walker's solid Week 11, Bridgewater should still be considered an upgrade for Carolina's offense.

Panthers RB Mike Davis injured a finger in the 3rd quarter of Sunday's game against the Bucs and is officially questionable to return. Stay tuned for an update.

Update: Davis returned in the 4th quarter.

Panthers WR Curtis Samuel (knee) is inactive for today’s game against the Bears. That frees up a few extra targets for Robby Anderson, D.J. Moore and Mike Davis.

Panthers WR Curtis Samuel (knee) is listed as questionable for Sunday’s game against the Bears. Hopefully he wasn’t part of your Week 6 plans — but Samuel’s absence would free up a few extra targets for WR Robby Anderson, WR D.J. Moore and RB Mike Davis.

Updating previous reports, NFL Network's Ian Rapoport says Panthers RB Christian McCaffrey is expected to miss 4-6 weeks with his high-ankle sprain, following his Monday morning MRI. That makes Mike Davis a top waiver target this week. The veteran clearly isn't close to McCaffrey in ability, but he should control the touches in a shallow backfield. A Week 3 matchup with the Chargers looks challenging. The ensuing 5 weeks, though, include both meetings with the Falcons (weeks 5 and 8) and an upside scoring matchup with Arizona (Week 4). Davis figures to crack the top 30 in our Week 3 RB rankings on expected touch volume alone.

The Panthers have released RB Reggie Bonnafon. That's not a big move, but it positions RB Mike Davis #2 on the depth chart behind Christian McCaffrey. No player would come close to approximating McCaffrey's scoring should the starter go down, but Davis brings a much better record of production than Bonnafon and would at least be worth rostering in that circumstance.

ESPN's David Newton believes RB Mike Davis "might have the edge" for the Panthers' #2 RB job. His competition is Reggie Bonnafon and Jordan Scarlett. The battle is irrelevant as long as RB Christian McCaffrey is healthy, of course. We wouldn't bother spending a pick to "handcuff" CMC at this point.

The Panthers claimed RB Mike Davis off waivers. He's obviously no threat to Christian McCaffrey, but Davis might be the favorite for touches over Reggie Bonnafon if McCaffrey goes down.

The Bears have released RB Mike Davis. He's totaled just 3 carries and 1 target over the past 5 games, so there's no fantasy impact here in Chicago. Davis, though, could gain fantasy value if he lands somewhere like Detroit or Miami.

Bears RB Mike Davis is a healthy scratch for today's game against the Vikings. That's a boost to RB David Montgomery's stock.

The Bears added Iowa State RB David Montgomery in the 3rd round of the 2019 NFL Draft. Montgomery is coming off 3 productive seasons for the Cyclones. He led the squad with 563 rushing yards as a true freshman and then broke out for 1,146 yards and 11 TDs in 2017. Montgomery bested those numbers this past season, racking up 1,216 yards and 13 scores. His career 4.7 yards per carry looks disappointing, but he played behind some bad offensive lines. Montgomery is a tackle-breaking machine on tape and ranked 4th in this RB class in Pro Football Focus’ 2018 Elusive Rating. He’s also adept in the passing game, totaling 71 catches over 3 college seasons and faring well in pass protection. Montgomery tested as a 36th percentile athlete at the Combine and won’t be a big-play back as a pro. But he has the size (5’10, 222 lbs.) and skill set to make it as a lead back. He joins free-agent addition Mike Davis and change-of-back guy Tarik Cohen in Chicago’s backfield. Montgomery has a shot to lead the way in touches this season.