Fantasy Football 2018: Le’Veon Bell’s holdout doesn’t affect value
By Bill Pivetz
Le’Veon Bell is expected to hold out after not reaching a long-term deal with the Steelers. That should not affect his fantasy football value.
The Pittsburgh Steelers front office and running back Le’Veon Bell have had a rough relationship over the last couple of seasons. Bell’s received the franchise tag in the last two off seasons despite his want of a long-term contract. Even with a holdout looming, Bell’s fantasy football value should remain the same entering draft season.
Bell was in a similar situation last season. The Pro Bowl running back did not appear in any training activities or preseason games. He showed up just nine days before the Steelers week 1 game. As a result, Bell had his best season in a lot of categories.
He played 15 of 16 games and finished with 1,291 rushing yards and nine touchdowns on a career-high 321 carries. Bell also recorded 655 receiving yards and two more touchdowns with 85 catches.
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Le’Veon Bell finished third among all players, second among running backs, in ESPN fantasy scoring with 341.6 points. He is being drafted as the top running back with an ADP of 1.6. Bell and Todd Gurley are the only running backs that should be drafted that high.
Bell is on one of the few teams that don’t use a committee in the backfield. With little competition behind him, the Steelers have no other option but to use the 26-year-old on a consistent basis.
In the games he’s been active over the last five seasons, Bell’s carry share is 77, 83, 83, 90 and 90.
Not getting warmed up and used to play-calling and transitions in preseason could cause Bell injury in the regular season. Then again, how many players were hurt in the preseason last season? Maybe Bell is taking the smarter approach by not playing.
If Bell’s holdout goes into the regular season, the Steelers’ first four games are against the Browns, Chiefs, Buccaneers and Ravens. He’s had great success against three of those teams throughout his career. Bell has just one game against Tampa Bay. Losing two divisional games early in the season will hurt the Steelers’ playoff chances.
However, Bell’s agent doesn’t expect that to happen. “Barring something exceptional,” Adisa Bakari told SiriusXM (h/t Triblive.com) on Tuesday, “that is correct.” Bakari continued, “He is going to come in ready. Whenever that date is, that will be the date. When he suits up, he’ll be ready to play.”
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Fantasy owners should draft Le’Veon Bell like the top-three running back he is and ride his performance all the way to a championship. Then, we play the “Where Will Bell Go” game next offseason.