2015 Review
In terms of what the team did on offense, the Buffalo Bills had a couple solid fantasy contributors. In his first season as a starting quarterback in the NFL, Tyrod Taylor found his groove early and often. He put up over 3,600 total yards with 24 touchdowns and just six picks in 14 games. Meanwhile, also in his first season with Buffalo, running back LeSean McCoy put up nearly 1,100 rushing yards.
As a team, Buffalo continued its struggles, missing the playoffs for the 16th consecutive season. With a ton of talent on offense and a somewhat revamped defense, the hope is that the Bills can end that streak in 2016. Here's a preview of the squad from a fantasy perspective.
Quarterback: Tyrod Taylor
Despite missing two games to injury last year, Taylor still found a way to finish ahead of Ryan Tannehill, Andy Dalton, Matt Ryan and Ben Roethlisberger in fantasy points. In fact, Taylor finished as a top-end QB2 in 12-team contests. If Taylor had played a full 16-game slate, his numbers suggest he'd have finished as the sixth-best fantasy quarterback.
Now with a full season under his belt, the expectation here has to be that Taylor will inch his way into QB1 territory. Leading up to the season, that's probably where you should value him. Considering Taylor's current ADP has him as the 16th quarterback off the board, that's a good sign for those of you banking on him to pick up where he left off last season.
Running Back: LeSean McCoy, Karlos Williams, Reggie Bush
McCoy had his struggles with injuries and consistency in his first season with Buffalo. He missed four games to injury and was slowed down in another two games due to these lingering injury issues. When all was said and done, McCoy finished as the 16th-best fantasy running back. This came on the heels of him finishing as a top-five fantasy running back in three of the previous four seasons in Philadelphia.
Don't worry yourself too much over this. McCoy entered the 2015 campaign having played in all 16 games in each of the past two seasons. He's not what we'd call an injury-prone running back. When given the opportunity, McCoy has proven himself to be among the most-consistent fantasy backs in the game. Maybe that's why his ADP still sits at the top of the third round.
McCoy's fantasy relevance will likely be increased with news that Karlos Williams will be forced to sit out the first four games of the season to suspension. Williams, a mid-round pick of the Buffalo Bills last year, put up nine touchdowns on just 103 touches as a rookie. He was likely going to be the team's short-yardage and goal-line back. That's no longer going to be the case early in the season, opening up more touches for McCoy in the process.
Reggie Bush and Mike Gillislee are two veterans that should also earn a spot on the 53-man rotation. Though, neither appears to be relevant from a fantasy football perspective. In reality, it's McCoy or bust in the backfield for the Bills this season.
Wide Receiver: Sammy Watkins
If 100 percent healthy, Watkins has an opportunity to be an absolutely studly fantasy performer this season. He caught 60 passes for 1,047 yards and nine touchdowns in 13 games as a sophomore last season. Those splits are absurd. This means that he tallied a touchdown ever 11 times he was targeted while putting up 10-plus yards on the 96 targets he received. Imagine Taylor and Watkins working together with both healthy throughout an entire season. It would a beautiful thing to watch.
As it is, Watkins' current ADP has him as the 15th wide receiver off the board midway through the third round. That's pretty much where he should be valued — a top end WR2 for those relying on elite production from your WR1 or a potential top fantasy receiver for those of you going the value route.
Tight End: Charles Clay
Clay saw a dramatic dip in production during his first season with Buffalo, putting up just 528 receiving yards and three touchdowns in 13 games. Though, the splits aren't too shabby here. If Clay finds a relationship with Taylor moving forward, there's something that can be had. After all, he did catch 66 percent of the passes thrown in his direction last season.
Our recommendation is to sit back and wait on adding a TE2 until the very late rounds — potentially right before you go defense/special teams and kicker. If so, Clay might not be a terrible option there.