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It would be hard to find a more experienced backfield duo than Buffalo's LeSean McCoy and Frank Gore. They have combined to appear in 357 games and gain 32,766 total yards. Can they hold off two newcomers to the roster in veteran T.J. Yeldon and rookie Devin Singletary? Is this a four-man committee or will one -- or even two -- of these guys distance themselves from the pack?
Jason Wood
Josh Allen led the Bills in 100-yard rushing games last year, with two. LeSean McCoy, who somehow avoided league discipline in spite of damning evidence of his involvement in an assault against his former girlfriend, had one 100-yard game in 2018. McCoy's place in NFL history is cemented, but he's lost more than a step or two. The Bills are in full rebuild mode and are bringing in a litany of pieces to see what Josh Allen is capable of as the team's centerpiece. I would be shocked if McCoy leads the Bills in yards from scrimmage. But that doesn't mean there's fantasy gold to be had elsewhere on the depth chart. Expect a committee with little weekly redraft value.
Phil Alexander
I'd be surprised if McCoy is on the Bills roster in Week 1. The team can reportedly save $6.5 million by cutting him and most likely haven't yet because they're hoping to recoup something in a trade when another team's starter gets hurt during training camp. Without a trade to a running back-needy team, McCoy isn't very interesting. He's never been one to make much happen after contact, and age is beginning to chip away at his ability to make defenders miss.
The most likely scenario is McCoy playing elsewhere, Singletary -- perhaps the least athletic running back in this year's draft class -- on the better half of a 60/40 timeshare with Gore, and Yeldon the preferred option on passing downs, rendering him useless for fantasy. Josh Allen would sooner scramble and either take off running or buy time for a big play to develop downfield than check down to a running back. From Weeks 11-17 with Allen at the helm, Buffalo had the fewest running back receptions in the league.
It's a long way of echoing 's Jason's sentiment -- don't draft any of these guys expecting a reliable fantasy starter to emerge.
Andy Hicks
One of the more interesting rookies this year is Devin Singletary, who is projected to play little behind veteran backs in LeSean McCoy, Frank Gore, and T.J. Yeldon. Yeldon will be more a depth option, who has skills as a third-down back. McCoy has deteriorated noticeably in the last couple of seasons, as you would expect a 31-year-old back to do. What is interesting about McCoy though, as Phil pointed out, is that he can be cut with a seven million dollar saving on the salary cap. He is in the final year of a very expensive contract, and if Singletary is ready, be prepared for a shock cut. Frank Gore is the wildcard as he has been on the wind down for almost 10 years.
Ultimately I would expect one or both of Gore and McCoy to not make the final roster, providing Singletary can look like an NFL player during camp. Singletary is severely underrated going into all draft formats but especially redraft. If McCoy makes the final roster he is entirely unappealing. His yards per carry has dropped from 5.4 in 2016 to 3.2 last year. Frank Gore is a model for longevity in the NFL, but only two running backs have more than 150 carries at age 36. Marcus Allen in 1996 and Frank Riggins in 1985. Gore could do it, but it is highly unlikely.
If we look at the scenario and not the names, then Singletary stands out as a player with huge upside in 2019, let alone beyond that. His current projections of 40 rushing attempts for the season and an ADP among the kickers is quite frankly, difficult to comprehend.
Will Grant
I'm on board with Jason unless something changes in training camp. In my early best-ball drafts, I'm avoiding most of the Buffalo players until late because I feel like it's a landmine field right now. Josh Allen could add a bunch of yards rushing, but his 150 yards or less passing games are killers from the quarterback position. Even if you took one of them in a boom-or-bust type of pick, I think you'll have more bust than boom. I don't see a lot of 2019 fantasy value with this backfield right now.
Chad Parsons
I don't feel good about predicting this backfield at all for 2019. LeSean McCoy is eroding by my eye and the last year or two of tape. McCoy's contract also points to being a potential cut or trade by Week 1. Frank Gore continues to churn out yards. I have always been above the market sentiment regarding T.J. Yeldon. Devin Singletary is a Day 2 pick. I can see any of the four being the right answer when we look back after the season. When a backfield is this murky, my play is the cheap options, which is technically all of them compared to other pricey backfields. Give me T.J. Yeldon in terms of 2019 upside compared to cost, plus clarity early is important with using a roster spot and Yeldon may be off the roster by Week 1 or the RB2 to Frank Gore to start the season if LeSean McCoy is cut or traded.
Dan Hindery
This is one of the messiest backfield situations in the league. I agree with Phil that Buffalo cutting or trading LeSean McCoy would be the logical move but it seems like more of a 50/50 chance the Bills will make a move with him. Drafting Devin Singletary in the late rounds is a decent gamble because he would have decent upside should McCoy be moved.
Draft capital spent is one of the clearest indicators of a team's intent and Buffalo using the #74 overall pick on Singletary strongly indicates they will give him every chance to carve out a sizable role. Darrell Henderson (#70 overall) and David Montgomery (#73 overall) were taken in the exact same range in the draft and are much hotter commodities in redraft leagues. In early best-ball drafts, Montgomery is going in the fourth round while Henderson is going in the sixth. Singletary is typically going in the 14th round. Viewed through that lens, Singletary stands out as a decent bargain.
Jeff Haseley
There's a lot of speculation about whether LeSean McCoy will be with the team come Week 1, and if not, who will carry the load. It's hard to believe that Frank Gore is still relevant in the league, but every year he defies the odds. Like Phil, my gut says Gore will be the primary option in the early going with T.J. Yeldon and Devin Singletary getting some touches as well with a possible changing of the guard around mid-season. This is all based on Buffalo releasing McCoy to save their $6.5M against the cap. It's a muddy situation that appears to be one to avoid from a fantasy perspective, however, once there's some clarity on volume and touches, it could spawn a productive player who will likely be on the bench for many teams. I think the strategy here is to try to roster T.J. Yeldon and/or Devin Singletary later in the draft and hope that one of them sees an uptick in usage.
Sigmund Bloom
I'll go counter to the tone of Phil and others and project McCoy as a member of this backfield in 2019 and the leader in carries. That doesn't mean his weekly ceiling will be good enough to be more than a matchup flex, and his lower end outcomes are more likely than his higher end ones with Gore, Yeldon, and Singletary aboard. With Allen as the focal point of the offense and a much-improved receiver group likely creating more balance, the simplest and best answer is probably to avoid this backfield in drafts and only dabble in it in DFS if injuries clarify it during the season.
Bob Henry
Similar to Sigmund, I will at least play the devil's advocate here and say why not McCoy? A lot of things went badly last year for the Bills offense, starting up front where their offensive line took a step back from previous seasons and on to McCoy, who played and struggled through a season filled with problems from injuries to off-the-field suspension and domestic violence problems.
I'm not convinced that any of the other Bills running backs are better than McCoy. Gore is at the end of his career, but he is probably the one who is most capable of supplanting or displacing McCoy. I'm not buying into Singletary as a threat this year, but I do think he'll get some touches. T.J. Yeldon is the most likely to eat into McCoy's snaps in passing situations where he's been a viable target out of the backfield.
Still, as much as I hear that McCoy has lost a step, I'm just not there yet. Sure he didn't look good last year, but he also had the entire defense focused on him every time he touched the ball and no legitimate threats around him to put fear into the defense. McCoy has bounced back before. He may be 30, and he may not be what he was two or three years ago, but I think he still has enough left that he could bounce back, lead this backfield in touches, catches, touchdowns, and yards and find his way into the RB2 realm.
Granted, that's on the high side of his range of outcomes but considering his ADP, I don't think he'll be a disappointment to anyone with such a low investment.
If Josh Allen, the offensive line and receiving corps all take a solid step forward this year, McCoy could pull a Frank Gore and defy the odds while delivering solid value to those willing to take a chance.
