Fantasy Football Impact: Le’Veon Bell facing a four-game suspension
Pittsburgh Steelers running back Le’Veon Bell is reportedly facing a four-game suspension, which has big implications for fantasy football owners.
On Friday morning, ESPN’s Dan Graziano reported Pittsburgh Steelers running back Le’Veon Bell is facing a four-game suspension after missing a drug test. As a repeat offender, after an eventual two-game suspension in 2015 following an arrest for marijuana possession and DUI in the summer of 2014, Bell was subject to the next step in league discipline.
More from Fantasy Football
- Top 10 fantasy football dynasty wide receivers heading into 2023
- Fantasy Football: How high should Alexander Mattison’s ADP rise after Dalvin Cook release?
- Top 10 fantasy football dynasty running backs heading into 2023
- Top 10 dynasty quarterbacks heading into 2023
- 5 players fantasy football owners should hope are traded this offseason
Even with questions surrounding his recovery the torn MCL and PCL in his right knee from Week 8 last season, Bell was easily a top-five fantasy running back across the board in pre-season rankings. A strong case, health-permitting, could have been made for him to be the first running back off the board and the No. 1 overall pick in drafts. That’s obviously no longer in play, so how does Bell’s absence impact fantasy football in 2016?
All things considered, the prospect of missing the first month of the season might not hurt Bell’s fantasy impact that much. Extra recovery time from a major knee injury never hurts, but then the real question becomes Bell’s football conditioning in his first few games back when he has to be away from the team facility during his suspension. That’s where DeAngelo Williams comes in, and we got a glimpse of what he can do in Bell’s place last season.
In the 10 games Bell missed in 2015, Williams averaged 17.8 carries and 3.5 receptions per game with four 100-yard rushing games and seven games with over 90 total yards. He also tied for the league lead in rushing touchdowns with 11, while adding an eighth game with more than 90 total yards when Bell went down in Week 8, so while there’s no replacing Bell’s talent level Williams did a very good job of it last season.
Bell’s health concerns already made Williams a virtual must-handcuff, and that is even more important now.
In terms of the broader running back pecking order in fantasy Bell was one of the few proven workhorses, if not the only true workhorse, that was also a PPR stud. Todd Gurley and Adrian Peterson now both have a case for being the first running back drafted, and a little further down Lamar Miller and Ezekiel Elliott should usurp Bell in running back rankings. David Johnson should also see a bump in ADP, after a breakout ending to his rookie season.
Bell could now become a relative value in drafts and auctions, but any idea to not follow-up taking him by also taking Williams is now out of the question. Williams should be a RB1 in all scoring formats over the first four weeks, and he could become good trade bait if Bell is at full strength when he returns to action.
As you prepare for your drafts and auctions this year, visit our Fantasy Football page.