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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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MIAMI, FL – NOVEMBER 04: Frank Gore #21 and Kenyan Drake #32 of the Miami Dolphins pose after the game against the New York Jets at Hard Rock Stadium on November 4, 2018 in Miami, Florida. (Photo by Mark Brown/Getty Images)
MIAMI, FL – NOVEMBER 04: Frank Gore #21 and Kenyan Drake #32 of the Miami Dolphins pose after the game against the New York Jets at Hard Rock Stadium on November 4, 2018 in Miami, Florida. (Photo by Mark Brown/Getty Images) /

No matter how old living legend Frank Gore is, he will still command carries and limit fantasy upside for his fellow RBs.

Rather than allow Drake to thrive with a healthy number of carries as the star rusher, Gase instead fed Gore with more touches than expected to share the backfield:

  • 2018, Miami Dolphins (7-9 team record):
    • Kenyan Drake (16 games): 120 rushing attempts for 535 yards and 4 TDs, plus 53 of 73 targets for 477 receiving yards and 5 TDs.
    • Frank Gore (14 games): 156 rushing attempts for 722 yards and 0 TDs, plus 12 of 16 targets for 124 receiving yards and 1 TD.
    • Kalen Ballage (12 games): 36 rushing attempts for 191 yards and 1 TD, plus 9 of 11 targets for 56 receiving yards and 0 TDs.

Drake still managed to reach the coveted 1K all-purpose yards, but just barely squeaked by with 1,012 total yards. Gore, however, severely limited Drake’s upside by having more rushing attempts and a larger presence on the field than expected by most. And that’s with Gore missing the last two games of the year due to injury! Fun fact, this happened to be the first – and so far, last – time he’s missed a game since 2010.

Drake had only a 59.24% offensive snap count, while Gore’s was 35.87%. In comparison, Bell had a dominating 76.67% snap count in 2019, with the next highest-usage rusher being Bilal Powell at 16.08%. Keep in mind that Bell’s 2019 snap count would be the highest for any RB under Gase as head coach.

After his brief stint in Miami, Gore signed with AFC East rival Buffalo Bills for the 2019 season, sharing the backfield with rookie Devin Singletary. Again, the general consensus was that this would be Singletary’s backfield with Gore providing veteran insight and relief. But even without Gase’s meddling, history would prove to repeat itself:

  • 2019, Buffalo Bills (10-6 team record):
    • Devin Singletary (12 games): 151 rushing attempts for 775 yards and 2 TDs, plus 29 of 41 targets for 194 receiving yards and 2 TDs.
    • Frank Gore (16 games): 166 rushing attempts for 599 yards and 2 TDs, plus 13 of 16 targets for 100 receiving yards and 0 TDs.

Despite beating Gore in rushing and receiving efficiency, Singletary was only on the field for 49.58% offensive snaps while Gore was present on 34.61% of snaps. Singletary did miss 4 games due to injury (Weeks 3-5 and 17), but in the 12 games when both RBs were active, Gore still averaged 30.75% of the snaps – and that includes Week 16 against the Patriots where he was bewilderingly held to only 2 snaps and 0 touches the whole game, by far the lowest of his 15 year career!

But now that Gore is reunited with coach Gase, expect more of the same…

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