Buffalo Bills: Who will back up LeSean McCoy in 2017?
By Brenden Deeg
With training camp and 2017 season fast approaching, the Buffalo Bills have an open competition at backup running back. Who will win the job?
Training camp is on the near horizon with OTAs in high gear, and one positional battle glaringly stands out for the Buffalo Bills. After letting Mike Gillislee walk after the New England Patriots signed him to an offer sheet, the Bills have a big question mark at the backup running back position.
The starter will undoubtedly be LeSean McCoy, as he will be tasked with carrying a heavy workload for the Bills rushing attack in 2017. McCoy was the main reason the Bills led the league in rushing last season, as the eight-year veteran posted a career high in yards per carry with (5.4) and led the team with 14 total touchdowns.
However, McCoy has battled injuries during his career. Furthermore, when the season starts in September, he will be 29 years old — and running backs tend to decline around his age. The Bills will be rather cautious with his carry count, meaning they will be looking for McCoy’s backup to step up and help carry the workload. The question remains, however, who will be taking those carries?
Right now the favorite to win the job is second-year running back Jonathan Williams. Drafted out of Arkansas in the fifth round by the Bills in 2016, Williams had a rather quiet rookie campaign. He finished his rookie year with only 94 yards on 27 carries and one rushing touchdown.
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When the Bills drafted Williams, many thought he could be the steal of the draft. The 23-year old from Dallas, TX had a solid college career, which saw him run for 1,190 yards in 2014 for the Razorbacks. He averaged 5.6 yards a carry and had 12 touchdowns. Williams decided to come back for his senior year.
However, he never saw the field for the Razorbacks in 2015. Before the start of the season, Williams suffered a foot injury during summer practice, which forced him to miss the entire 2015 campaign. If Williams was healthy in 2015, he had the potential to put up some sizeable numbers for Arkansas.
With that said, Williams is not guaranteed to win the backup running back job. In March, the Bills signed running back Joe Banyard to come in and compete for a spot on the roster. The undrafted free agent out of UTEP has been in the NFL for five years, but has had a tough time getting on the field.
Banyard’s career numbers are minuscule with just 95 yards on the ground, and he has yet to find the end zone during his career. Buffalo also has fullbacks Mike Tolbert and Patrick DiMarco on their roster. Subsequently, both Tolbert and Dimarco will compete for carries with the Bills offense.
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After letting Gillislee walk, the Bills opened up competition for the backup position. Additionally, the Bills decided not to bring in a running back during free agency or to draft one. Now they’ll have a bevy of options competing to backup McCoy. Williams looks to be the favorite, but training camp will determine who comes out as the clear No. 2.