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Fantasy Football: Examining the Buffalo Bills Early Moves

By Dan Thomas

Dec 4, 2016; Oakland, CA, USA; Buffalo Bills quarterback Tyrod Taylor (5) celebrates after scoring on a 12-yard touchdown run in the third quarter against the Oakland Raiders during a NFL football game at Oakland Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports
Dec 4, 2016; Oakland, CA, USA; Buffalo Bills quarterback Tyrod Taylor (5) celebrates after scoring on a 12-yard touchdown run in the third quarter against the Oakland Raiders during a NFL football game at Oakland Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports /
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With Tyrod Taylor officially returning to the Buffalo Bills, how does this move along with others impact the Bills offense in fantasy football?

The Buffalo Bills had a big decision to make about their quarterback Tyrod Taylor: Do they keep him or release him? In the end, they decided to keep him. ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported early on Tuesday morning that the Bills decided to retain Taylor on a restructured contract. He will now be the Bills starting quarterback for the third straight season. With Taylor returning, it gives fantasy owners a reason to be excited about the Bills offense in 2017.

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Last season Taylor finished as the 11th-best fantasy football quarterback (According to ESPN standard scoring) despite missing Week 17 due to an injury. In Weeks 1-16, he averaged 16.9 fantasy points per game. In 14 games in 2015, Taylor averaged 18.4 points per game. He is a dangerous dual-threat quarterback who has a high ceiling due to his ability to run the ball.

Over the last two seasons, no quarterback has racked up more rushing yards than Taylor who has totaled 1,148 rushing yards in that time. He has also managed to chip in 10 rushing touchdowns as well. This running ability makes him a low-end QB1 with a great week-to-week ceiling. Taylor’s threat to run the ball has also helped create big lanes for running back LeSean McCoy.

Last season, McCoy finished with 1,267 rushing yards and 13 rushing touchdowns. His rushing yards ranked sixth in the NFL while his rushing touchdowns ranked fourth. His 1,623 yards from scrimmage was good enough for fifth in the NFL. When you combine all these numbers, McCoy was the third-best fantasy running back last season.

Buffalo bolstered their backfield even more yesterday when NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport reported the Bills signed former Atlanta Falcons fullback Patrick DiMarco to a four-year contract.

DiMarco made the Pro Bowl in 2015 and Pro Football Focus has graded him out as the best blocking fullback in each of the last two seasons. With McCoy having the best blocking fullback in the NFL clearing the way for him and dual-threat quarterback to keep defenses on their heels, he is set for another big season. McCoy is officially locked and loaded as a RB1 for 2017.

Last but not least, the arrow is also pointing up for wide receiver Sammy Watkins. If Taylor did not return in 2017, who was going to throw him the ball? Last year’s backup Cardale Jones? A free agent like Nick Foles? A rookie from a quarterback class that has more questions than answers? Thank goodness it did not come to that. Instead, Watkins and Taylor will be working together fora third straight season.

Next: Fantasy Football: Impact of Brandon Marshall to the Giants

In 2015 when Watkins was (kind of) healthy and Taylor was throwing him the ball, he finished with 999 receiving yards and 8 touchdowns across the 12 games they played together. He finished that season as the 16th-best fantasy football wide receiver. These two have shown good chemistry and it should only get better.

I guess the one question everyone is wondering is: Can Watkins be healthy enough to stay on the field? If he can, there’s no reason to believe he can’t be a top 10-12 fantasy football wide receiver.

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