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Fantasy Impact: LeSean McCoy Traded To Bills

By Bruce Matson

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The Philadelphia Eagles and the Buffalo Bills just made a blockbuster trade. The Eagles are sending LeSean McCoy to the Bills in exchange for Linebacker Kiko Alonso. Kiko Alonso played for Eagles head coach Chip Kelly at the University of Oregon. LeSean McCoy is a marquee player in fantasy, and this trade is going to cause a conundrum for a lot of fantasy owners.

Dec 28, 2014; East Rutherford, NJ, USA; Philadelphia Eagles running back LeSean McCoy (25) runs against New York Giants defensive back Mike Harris (37) at MetLife Stadium. The Eagles defeated the Giants 34-26. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports

LeSean McCoy RB Buffalo Bills

McCoy rushed for 1,319 yards and 5 TDs while catching 28 passes for 155 yards last season with the Eagles. The good thing about this trade is that McCoy is going to be playing under head coach Rex Ryan. Rex Ryan is old school; he likes to pound the ball with his running backs while having one of the toughest defenses in the league. Last year the Jets, Rex Ryan’s previous team, had 507 rushing attempts, which was 4th in the NFL. I think McCoy is going to experience a slight hit on his value due to how he is going to fit in Buffalo, but not enough to not consider him one of the best running backs in the NFL. The red flag with the Bills is that they don’t have a quarterback.

Right now it appears that E.J. Manuel is going to be the starter, which doesn’t look very promising for the Bills. McCoy is going to face a lot of 8 man fronts, and his production will hinge on the ability of Buffalo’s offensive line to make holes for him, and on their quarterback play. Last year, Buffalo averaged 92.6 yards a game rushing the ball, which ranked 25th in the NFL. I look for the Bills to run McCoy into the ground, and use him as the centerpiece of their offense. If he stays healthy, he should finish the season as a RB1 because he’s going to get one of the largest workloads in the NFL.

McCoy is very interesting in dynasty because he will be 27 years old at the start of the season, which means he is about to hit that point in his career where his production bottoms out like most running backs that hit their late 20’s. If your team is a contender, then McCoy is a hold at the moment because you’re not going to get the same value for him as you would have a few days ago. He’s still in a situation where he can contribute to your fantasy team. If your team is rebuilding, then I would sell him for draft picks and young prospects. He’s going to be 27 years old at the start of this season, and by the time you are ready to compete, he will more than likely be ready to retire.

Bryce Brown RB Buffalo Bills

Bryce Brown finds himself in a familiar place, backing up LeSean McCoy. There’s not much to see here with Brown. It’s evident that the Bills wanted more firepower at running back compared to what they currently had, or else they wouldn’t have traded for McCoy. Brown is still a solid backup, and serves as a good handcuff for McCoy in redraft leagues. In dynasty, Brown will be an end of bench guy, who will hold the most value to the McCoy owner. Brown isn’t worth much on the trade market in dynasty, but he could be used to package up one of your rookie draft picks up a couple spots.

 

Chris Polk RB Philadelphia Eagles

Right now, Polk is going to be proclaimed the starter by a lot of media outlets. This is the time to sell him in dynasty! The Eagles are going to bring in another running back either through free agency or through the draft, and that will drop Polk’s value. Polk will be a good piece to use to help package up one of your rookie draft picks. Pick Polk up if he’s on your waiver wire so you can try and trade him, or even hold him to see what happens with him. His value is going to rise, and the appropriate move is to capitalize on it.

Darren Sproles RB Philadelphia Eagles

I don’t see Sproles’ workload changing much. He is still going to be the change of pace back that’s going to be used out of the backfield. In redraft, he’s going to be a trendy bye week filler. He doesn’t hold much value in dynasty due to his age, but like in redraft, he can be used as a bye week filler. He doesn’t garner much on the trade market, but he can be used to package up one of your picks or get an end of bench prospect that you like. This might be the highest his value will get because some fantasy owners might give him a bump in value with McCoy being gone. You might find an owner who is willing to overpay for Sproles if you shop him around.

Philadelphia Eagles

Like I previously stated, the Eagles are going to be in the market for another running back. I look for them to pick one up in free agency. I think they are going to go with one of the cheaper free agents because they wanted McCoy to take a pay cut before they traded him, which tells me they must not have the budget to spend big money on a running back. I can see them picking up a back like Roy Helu, because he’s very good at catching passes and could be a good fit in Chip Kelly’s offense. If they pick up a free agent, I can also see them draft a running back in this year’s draft to groom for the future. This year’s draft is stock piled with talent at running back, and it’s the perfect year to draft one if you have a need at running back.

Need help with your dynasty team? Contact me on Twitter @bmatz08 and will give you the guidance you need to make the best decisions on trades, drafts, and the waiver wire.

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