LeSean McCoy trade huge for Buffalo Bills under one condition

They give him a strong offensive line. Yesterday’s trade that sent superstar running back LeSean McCoy to the Buffalo Bills and 2013 standout rookie Kiko Alonso to the Philadelphia Eagles was an extremely excited blockbuster deal in league that is woefully lacking when it comes to major trades. I wish more head coaches and GM were as gutsy as Doug Whaley and Chip Kelly, especially since this deal has a chance to pay off in a big way for both of these teams.

McCoy is easily the bigger name of the two despite the fact that plenty of people are aware of Alonso’s accomplishments, and “Shady” has a chance to become the star of the Bills offense, which now has two exciting skill position players with Sammy Watkins locked in as a high-upside WR1 following a mildly up-and-down- but promising- rookie campaign.

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“Up-and-down” can also be used to describe McCoy’s 2014 season, because while he ran for over 1,300 yards, he wasn’t nearly as good as he was in 2013 and fell short of expectations. Most of that has to do with injuries that decimated the offensive line in front of him, as the previously elite Eagles line was reduced to a shell of its former self for the better part of the season. When the line returned to both health and form, McCoy’s numbers unsurprisingly rounded into shape.

Ever since Week 11, McCoy ran for at least 50 yards in every game and finished the season with more than 80 rushing yards per contest to help overcome a mediocre 4.2 yards per carry. Considering he averaged over 100 yards per game and five yards per carry in his monstrous, 1,600-yard 2013 season, McCoy’s latest season was a disappointment.

The Bills will pay the former Pitt star $9.75 million this upcoming season, and he’ll be due for $6.9 million and $7.5 million in 2016 and 2017, respectively. That’s a princely sum, but, of course, McCoy was regarded as the league’s best back in 2013, and only Adrian Peterson, who is due for a paycut, makes more per year.

In 2014, the Bills averaged just 3.7 yards per carry and were easily one of the worst teams at running the ball. Their uninspiring passing attack didn’t help manners, but the biggest culprit was the blocking up front, which was truly deplorable in the running game. I mean, it was so bad that they had to sign Richie Incognito earlier this year, and he’s a massive upgrade at one of the guard spots.

Pro Football Focus did not give a single member of the Bills offensive line a positive grade in the run blocking department, and that tells you all you need to know about how disappointing this unit was at paving the way for Fred Jackson, Anthony Dixon, Bryce Brown, and C.J. Spiller.

None of those guys are true feature backs at this stage (though there’s hope for Spiller to bounce back, perhaps with the New York Jets and Chan Gailey now that it’s obvious he’ll leave in free agency), but all of them are at least competent options. Therefore, the fact that only Dixon averaged at least four yards per carry (4.1) last season is a huge indictment on the struggles of the offensive line, though at least Cordy Glenn and Incognito give this team some hope.

Better run blocking needs to be one of the priorities for the Buffalo Bills this offseason, since they can’t afford to hand their big investment a field bereft of holes. They traded one of the best young linebackers in the game for a feature back, and so it’s clear that they mean to run the offense through McCoy, especially since there’s no way they nab themselves a real franchise QB (barring sudden, unexpected growth from E.J. Manuel).

Rex Ryan is undoubtedly a run-first kind of guy, and he’ll once again step into a situation where he doesn’t have a viable franchise signal-caller on his hands. At least he has an elite back to run the offense through, but McCoy’s talents won’t matter if he doesn’t have the holes in front of him. LeSean McCoy isn’t a bad rusher in a muddy field, but he’s not worth the price the Bills are paying for both financially and in the player they sent the Eagles way if he isn’t given the holes.

See, McCoy, who had 34 runs of at least ten yards or more last season to tie for fifth in the league, is someone who is at his best when he’s given space, as he’s an elusive speed back who wouldn’t be utilized fully if he isn’t given enough chances to a hit a home-run. He’s a complete back- as a pass-catcher, too- but the Bills won’t get their money’s worth if they don’t give him the kind of blocking that will afford him enough chances to break loose. Perhaps Clint Boling could be a free agent option?

I mentioned McCoy’s pass-catching ability above, and that’s something the Bills won’t underrate anytime soon. He’s always shown off an ability to make a big impact in that facet of the game, as he once caught 78 passes in a season and had back-to-back 50-catch campaigns in 2012 and 2013, including an unheard of 10.4 yards per reception in 2013, before only putting up 28 receptions and 5.5 YPR last season.

Nov 27, 2014; Arlington, TX, USA; Philadelphia Eagles running back LeSean McCoy (25) runs with the ball prior to the game against the Dallas Cowboys at AT&T Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Matthew Emmons-USA TODAY Sports

As I said, it’s all about getting McCoy the ball in space, and another way of achieving that is to get him involved in the passing game. Throws to a running back are low-risk- which will be important for the Bills, particularly if Manuel starts- and when McCoy is the recipient of the targets, there’s still plenty of reward to be found thanks to his deadly speed and “shakes” in the open field.

Greg Roman has a true centerpiece on offense to work with following this blockbuster deal, and it makes plenty of sense for the Bills to add an elite back with all-around ability to an offense that needs playmakers that can overcome the lack of a franchise quarterback.

That said, this move will be a waste of money and a top LB if the Bills aren’t able to get the most out of McCoy, and that starts with continuing to beef up an offensive line that was embarrassingly bad in the running game last season.

Signing Incognito was an early step in the right direction, but they need to do more, whether it be via free agency or the draft. Of course, they did add some young linemen last season, so we’ll see if those guys can make strides and if a veteran or two can bounce back.

Next: Should the Bills scoop up Hoyer?

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