2015 Fantasy Football Players to Avoid: LeSean McCoy





By Chet Gresham – @ChetGresham
Follow @walterfootball for updates.

How much do you believe in Chip Kelly? That’s one the questions you need to ask when assessing McCoy this season. Kelly is as meticulous as any coach in the league and saw something in McCoy that he wanted to upgrade. Did he make the right decision?

From 2011 to 2013, McCoy had an elusive rating of 45+, which ranked him sith overall for running backs according to Pro Football Focus (PFF). That stat looks at yards after contact and number of missed tackles against him, which there were many. And, when you look at the numbers for each of those seasons, his best numbers came in 2013, his first season with Kelly, when he rushed 314 times for 1,697 yards and caught 52 of 64 targets for 539 yards, accumulating 11 touchdowns and a league-high 2,146 yards while averaging 5.1 yards per carry. That season, the Eagles led the NFL in rushing yards and were second in overall offense, but 2014 was a different story for McCoy and the Eagles.

In 2014, the Eagles ended up 10-6 just like the year before, but even though the offense still played at the same up-tempo pace, the rushing offense slipped from first to ninth in rushing yards and from first to 15th in yards per attempt. McCoy wasn’t the same player. He had just gone through a full training camp and season with one of the most demanding coaches in the NFL and touched the ball 371 times, the most in his career, and he lost .9 yards per carry and 18 rushing yards per game while rushing just two fewer times on the season. McCoy appeared to have lost a step, and Kelly held him back in places like goal-line attempts and then decided to move on in the offseason. McCoy had racked up 706 touches in two seasons with Kelly, in a break-neck offense. Kelly understands that his offense is going to wear players down, especially his running backs, and he most likely wanted to get two very good backs to replace McCoy, in DeMarco Murray and Ryan Matthews, so he could keep both fresh.




Is Kelly right? McCoy is still just 27 years old and could have just had a down season. He now goes to Buffalo, where Rex Ryan will run the ball six ways to Sunday. So the commitment to the run is there, and there’s no reason to just negate what McCoy has been able to do in his career, but is McCoy still a first-round pick in Buffalo?

The Eagles ranked first in run blocking last season according to PFF – McCoy’s numbers still declined – while the Bills ranked 21st. Bringing in Richie Incognito isn’t going to turn Buffalo’s offensive line group around, and with nobody at quarterback to really scare defenses; they will focus on stopping McCoy. Two years ago, I’d have fallen back on the old adage that great running backs make great offensive lines, but at this point for McCoy, I believe he needs a great offensive line to help boost him up.




If you believe Shady and Kelly just couldn’t see eye-to-eye, or that he was playing with an undisclosed injury, or the offense just wasn’t the right fit (even though he destroyed the league the year before), then McCoy is probably still your guy. And even when I look at the situation, McCoy still has plenty of fantasy value, but I’m going to be going for upside, and a player like C.J. Anderson, who is going after McCoy, is someone I’d rather have and by a wide margin.

For more recommendations, check out WalterFootball.com’s Fantasy Football Rankings.







Daily Fantasy Sports Games at FanDuel.com



More 2015 Fantasy Football Articles:
Fantasy Football Rankings

2015 Fantasy Football Rankings:
2015 Fantasy Football Rankings: Quarterbacks - 9/10 (Walt)
Chet Gresham's Fantasy Football Quarterback Rankings - 9/4 (Chet)
2015 Fantasy Football Rankings: Running Backs - 9/10 (Walt)
Chet Gresham's Fantasy Football Running Back Rankings - 9/4 (Chet)
2015 Fantasy Football Rankings: Wide Receivers - 9/10 (Walt)
Chet Gresham's Fantasy Football Wide Receiver Rankings - 9/4 (Chet)
2015 Fantasy Football Rankings: Tight Ends - 9/10 (Walt)
Chet Gresham's Fantasy Football Tight End Rankings - 9/4 (Chet)
Chet Gresham's Fantasy Football Flex Rankings - 9/4 (Chet)
2015 Fantasy Football PPR Rankings - 9/4 (Chet)
2015 Fantasy Football Rankings: Defenses - 8/27 (Walt)
2015 Fantasy Football Rankings: Kickers - 8/27 (Walt)
Fantasy Football Rookie Rankings - 5/14 (Walt)
Fantasy Football Rookie Rankings: Dynasty - 5/14 (Walt)



2015 Fantasy Football Mock Drafts:
2015 Fantasy Football Mock Draft Simulator - 9/10 (Walt)
2015 Fantasy Football Mock Draft - 9/3 (Walt)
2015 Fantasy Football Mock Draft - 8/27 (Walt)
2015 Fantasy Football Mock Draft - 8/20 (Walt)
2015 Fantasy Football Mock Draft - 8/13 (Walt)
2015 Fantasy Football Experts Draft - 8/11 (Chet)
2015 Fantasy Football Mock Draft - 8/7 (Walt)
2015 Fantasy Football Mock Draft - 8/6 (Chet)
2015 Fantasy Football Mock Draft - 7/31 (Walt)
2015 Fantasy Football Mock Draft - 7/23 (Walt)
2015 Fantasy Football Mock Draft (2-QB) - 7/15 (Chet)
2015 Fantasy Football Mock Draft (PPR) - 7/6 (Chet)



2015 Fantasy Football Cheat Sheets:
2015 Fantasy Football Cheat Sheet: Top 250 - 9/10 (Walt)
2015 Fantasy Football Cheat Sheet: Top 250 PPR - 9/10 (Walt)
2015 Fantasy Football Cheat Sheet: Top 250 2-QB - 9/10 (Walt)
2015 Fantasy Football Cheat Sheet: Top 250 Touchdown League - 9/10 (Walt)
2015 Fantasy Football Cheat Sheet: Custom - 9/10 (Walt)
2015 Fantasy Football: Dynasty Rankings - 9/10 (Walt)
Chet Gresham's Fantasy Football Top 200 Rankings - 9/4 (Chet)
Chet Gresham's 2015 Fantasy Football Positional Cheat Sheet - 9/4 (Chet)
Chet Gresham's 2015 Fantasy Football Overall Cheat Sheet - 9/4 (Chet)

2015 Fantasy Football Articles:
2015 Fantasy Football Stock Report: Training Camp - 9/10 (Walt)
Fantasy Football Tight End Matchup Chart: Week 1 - 9/9 (Chet)
Fantasy Football Wide Receiver Matchup Chart: Week 1 - 9/8 (Chet)
2015 Fantasy Football Sleepers - 9/8 (Walt)
Fantasy Football Running Back Matchup Chart: Week 1 - 9/7 (Chet)
Fantasy Football Quarterback Matchup Chart: Week 1 - 9/6 (Chet)
2015 NFL Preseason Recap, Fantasy Football Notes - 9/4 (Walt)
2015 Fantasy Football Preseason Stock - 9/4 (Walt)
2015 Fantasy Football Quarterback Targets - 9/4 (Walt)
2015 Fantasy Football Busts - 9/4 (Walt)
2015 Fantasy Football Goal-Line Running Backs - 9/3 (Chet)
2015 Fantasy Football News - 9/1 (Chet)
2015 Fantasy Football: Better Than ADP - 8/31 (Chet)
Daily Fantasy Football: Running Backs - 8/27 (Chet)
2015 Fantasy Football: Late-Round Running Back Fliers - 8/24 (Chet)
2015 Fantasy Football Fallout: Jordy Nelson Injury - 8/24 (Chet)
2015 Fantasy Football Players to Target - 8/22 (Chet)
2015 Fantasy Football Spreadsheets - 8/22 (Walt)
2015 Fantasy Football Round-by-Round Strategy Guide - 8/20 (Walt)
2015 Fantasy Football: The Perfect Draft - 8/20 (Chet)
2015 Fantasy Football Players to Avoid: LeSean McCoy - 8/18 (Chet)
2015 Fantasy Football Values: Wide Receivers - 8/14 (Chet)
Daily Fantasy Football: Wide Receivers - 7/29 (Chet)
2015 Fantasy Football Value Profile: Brian Quick - 7/22 (Walt)
2015 Fantasy Football Value Profile: Eli Manning - 7/17 (Walt)
Daily Fantasy Football: A Primer - 7/10 (Chet)
2015 Fantasy Football Value Profile: Jarvis Landry - 7/7 (Walt)
Fantasy Football Offseason Stock Report: Up - 5/15 (Walt)
Fantasy Football Offseason Stock Report: Down - 5/15 (Walt)
2015 Fantasy Football: First-Round Bust History - 2/17 (Walt)
2015 Fantasy Football: Overdrafted Players - 2/15 (Walt)
2015 Fantasy Football: Running Backs with Most Carries - 2/15 (Walt)






2024 NFL Mock Draft - March 19


NFL Power Rankings - Feb. 22


Fantasy Football Rankings - Feb. 19


NFL Picks - Feb. 12