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Fantasy football: Fade Le’Veon Bell, just in “Gase”

By Peter Chung

BALTIMORE, MARYLAND - DECEMBER 12: Head coach Adam Gase of the New York Jets and running back Le'Veon Bell #26 talk before the game against the Baltimore Ravens at M&T Bank Stadium on December 12, 2019 in Baltimore, Maryland. (Photo by Scott Taetsch/Getty Images)
BALTIMORE, MARYLAND - DECEMBER 12: Head coach Adam Gase of the New York Jets and running back Le'Veon Bell #26 talk before the game against the Baltimore Ravens at M&T Bank Stadium on December 12, 2019 in Baltimore, Maryland. (Photo by Scott Taetsch/Getty Images) /
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BALTIMORE, MARYLAND – DECEMBER 12: Head coach Adam Gase of the New York Jets and running back Le’Veon Bell #26 talk before the game against the Baltimore Ravens at M&T Bank Stadium on December 12, 2019 in Baltimore, Maryland. (Photo by Scott Taetsch/Getty Images)
BALTIMORE, MARYLAND – DECEMBER 12: Head coach Adam Gase of the New York Jets and running back Le’Veon Bell #26 talk before the game against the Baltimore Ravens at M&T Bank Stadium on December 12, 2019 in Baltimore, Maryland. (Photo by Scott Taetsch/Getty Images) /

New York Jets’ infamous head coach Adam Gase has an appalling history with fantasy football.

The New York Jets’ current head coach (and briefly general manager) Adam Gase may not have a great record in terms of real-life production on the gridiron, but his impact on players for fantasy purposes is somehow even worse.

Prior to coaching the Jets, Gase was a first-time head coach for the Miami Dolphins. He started off well in 2016, steering the team to a 10-6 record with lead back Jay Ajayi hitting 260 rushing attempts for 1,272 yards and 8 TDs, plus 27 of 35 targets for 151 receiving yards and 0 TDs. Since then, Ajayi’s 2016 season would be the greatest fantasy performance for any RB under Gase – by a wide margin.

In the following year, Ajayi would be traded to the Philadelphia Eagles mid-season, leaving a vacant throne for future stars Kenyan Drake and Damien Williams to compete for. How did they fare?

  • 2017, Miami Dolphins (6-10 team record):
    • Kenyan Drake (16 games): 133 rushing attempts for 644 yards and 3 TDs, plus 32 of 48 targets for 239 receiving yards and 1 TD.
    • Damien Williams (11 games): 46 rushing attempts for 181 yards and 0 TDs, plus 20 of 28 targets for 155 receiving yards and 1 TD.

With Williams suffering a season ending injury late November and subsequently signing with the Kansas City Chiefs, Drake “won” the starting role and was finally poised for success in 2018. But with holes in the backfield, Gase signed then-35 year old RB legend Frank Gore.

Most fantasy pundits saw the Gore signing as an inconsequential depth move to spell Drake, the true starter. Thus, the 2018 offseason saw Drake going as a perceived “steal” in the fourth round of fantasy drafts as experts anticipated a much higher snap count for the newly crowned lead back.

How did it go?

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