The Buffalo Bills made one of the biggest moves of cutdown day when they released running back LeSean McCoy. While he’s not the player he once was, McCoy still has enough in his tank to draw some interest. Let’s take a look at some of his potential suitors and what his fantasy football outlook would be on each team.
Possible LeSean McCoy Fantasy Football Landing Spots
LeSean McCoy Himself
Before getting too deep into the analysis, let’s take a look at what type of player LeSean McCoy is. At age 31, McCoy is reaching the end of his career. Any team signing him would likely use him as a committee back, so he’ll only have fantasy value in deeper leagues. If you’re in an eight- or 10-team league, McCoy shouldn’t even be on your radar.
Last year, McCoy recorded 514 rushing yards and three touchdowns at an atrocious 3.2 yards-per-carry clip. He didn’t do much in the passing game, as he recorded just 34 receptions for 238 yards and no touchdowns. He ended the year as the RB40 in standard scoring, which obviously isn’t a good thing. That said, he played in a horrible offense with a bad offensive line and a nonexistent passing attack. It’s hard to have success in that scenario, so McCoy could theoretically bounce back if he lands in the right situation.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
This is probably the best fit from a fantasy perspective. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers need a running back, as Peyton Barber and Ronald Jones both leave a lot to be desired. McCoy would probably be the best back on the roster and could easily start right out of the gate. Bruce Arians has a history of making his running backs fantasy relevant, even when the talent isn’t always there.
Tampa Bay should have one of the best offenses in the league from a fantasy perspective, but they should also have one of the worst defenses. Chances are, the Buccaneers are going to play in a lot of shootouts, which means they won’t be running the ball. McCoy could be the most talented pass-catcher on the roster, so this could play to his favor. McCoy won’t be anything more than a flex play, but Tampa Bay would make him fantasy relevant.
Houston Texans
Update: This was published about 20 minutes before Houston traded for Carlos Hyde. LeSean McCoy won’t be a Texan.
This is the most obvious fit. The Houston Texans are in desperate need of running back help after losing Lamar Miller to a torn ACL. Duke Johnson is the only other running back of note on the roster, and he’s never had a full workload. Should McCoy land in Houston, he’d probably be a safe bet to see a respectable workload in the offense. Houston should have a great offense led by Deshaun Watson and DeAndre Hopkins, which means more opportunities for touches and more scoring opportunities. Additionally, Houston has one of the easier run defense schedules in the league, which should help McCoy and Johnson.
However, it’s all good news. Houston’s offensive line is one of the worst in the league and won’t be able to open many holes. At this point in his career, McCoy isn’t capable of making too many plays by himself. He’ll need good blocking to be effective, and he won’t get that in Houston. Additionally, Bill O’Brien isn’t good at manufacturing running back touches, and Duke Johnson is a better pass-catcher anyway. Unless you’re in a very deep league, McCoy won’t give you any value with Houston.
Los Angeles Chargers
The Texans and Buccaneers are the obvious fits, but some league reporters say that the Los Angeles Chargers could make a push for McCoy’s services. If this comes to fruition, it probably means that Melvin Gordon won’t be back for at least the first few weeks of the season. However, McCoy won’t automatically take the starting job if Gordon doesn’t report to the team.
Austin Ekeler is capable of being the starter, and that won’t change with McCoy in town. As previously discussed, Ekeler has RB2 potential and is competent enough as a runner to play on all three downs. While he’s better off playing in a platoon, he’s capable of being the primary runner in a committee. McCoy would battle Justin Jackson for the top backup spot, and that could honestly go down to the wire. Jackson looked good last year and is considerably younger than McCoy. Either way, McCoy probably wouldn’t see much more of a workload than Justin Jackson is currently projected to get. McCoy’s worth a bench spot if he goes to the Chargers, but he’ll probably be the first guy you cut for a waiver pickup.
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