With the Buffalo Bills thin at running back heading into the 2017 NFL draft, should they draft a running back with one of their first four selections?
The Buffalo Bills offense in 2016 was lackluster to say the least. The Bills finished the season with the 30th ranked passing offense in the league, only ahead of the Los Angeles Rams and San Francisco 49ers.
Only averaging 190 yards per game, Tyrod Taylor had a very mediocre second season with the Bills. He often found himself looking to make plays with his legs, as no one was getting open downfield. Even though Taylor had minimal help from his receivers, he has to own some of the responsibility.
When a team has the 30th ranked passing offense, blame has to go to the quarterback. Taylor has never really found his rhythm in the Buffalo offense. He has had two different offensive coordinators in two seasons with the Bills, and will look for new offensive coordinator Rick Dennison to help him grow his game.
With a new offensive coordinator coming in, the Bills are going to look to establish an elite offense. Dennison comes from the Mike Shanahan coaching tree, which means he will run a west coast type offense in Buffalo. The west coast offense is usually quarterback friendly, which will benefit Taylor.
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Additionally a strong running game will assist Taylor throughout the season. The Bills possessed a strong running game last year, ranking first in rushing yards per game. Undeniably, a big part of that success was due to Lesean McCoy. When McCoy is healthy, he is one of the best running backs in the game, and has been a fan favorite ever since coming to Buffalo. He has rushed for over 2,000 yards in his two seasons with Buffalo. The Bills definitely won that trade with the Eagles back in 2015.
However, McCoy has struggled to stay on the field. He did play in 15 games last season, but he only averaged 15.6 carries a game, which is the worst of his career since 2011. Some of that has to do with the fact that the Bills were behind in games and forced to pass towards the end of games. But still, a good portion of his decrease in carries can be related to his health.
McCoy will be 29 when the 2017 season starts, and the general consensus is that, once a running back reaches 30 years of age, their play declines. The best way to counter that is to have a great 1-2 punch in the backfield in order to help McCoy stay fresh. With former backup running back Mike Gillislee recently being snagged away by the division rival Patriots, what are the Bills options at backup running back?
I think the draft is the best place to find a backup to LeSean McCoy, as there is not much talent left in free agency at the running back position. Jamaal Charles and LeGarette Blount are both talented backs. However, the Bills need to get younger at the position. A young, change of pace back would be perfect to compliment McCoy.
So, which running backs should the Bills be looking at in the 2017 NFL Draft? Well the Bills are in luck because the 2017 class is very deep at running back. The Bills should go wide receiver or corner in the first round, which means looking for a running back in the second or third round.
One guy to keep an eye on in the second round is Joe Mixon out of Oklahoma. Mixon has first-round talent, but after an incident where he was charged with assaulting a woman in 2014 (one caught on video), some teams have completely taken him off their draft boards. If the Bills can be assured that he’s rehabilitated his behavior and won’t be at risk of another similar incident, they can find themselves a future starter in Mixon.
If the Bills are one of those teams that have removed Mixon from their board, they should consider D’Onta Foreman out of Texas. He is more of a power runner, which would compliment McCoy well. The Bills could also get him in the third, or even fourth, round of the draft. Between the two, Foreman would be the better option, as drafting Mixon might be too much of a distraction for first-year head coach Sean McDermott.
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If the Bills are going to find success in 2017, it is going to begin and end with Tyrod Taylor. Going into his third year, it will be a make or break season for Taylor. To give Taylor some help, the Buffalo Bills should definitely find a young running back in the draft to assist and contribute to the play of Lesean McCoy.