Buffalo Bills 2009 Fantasy Football Preview
QBs
Trent Edwards should be valued as a solid back up going into this year’s fantasy draft. He has the potential to be a top 15 QB towards midseason and possibly earn a few starts for your team, given a favorable matchup.
With the addition of Terrell Owens, Edwards has some nice targets for the upcoming year. Owens will be drawing double teams and demanding a ton of attention from the defense; opening things up downfield for Lee Evans.
The negatives: Edwards’ health is a liability. He also hasn’t really done a thing yet in his brief NFL career. In 24 games, he’s only thrown for 18 TDs, with just as many interceptions.
Another negative is that the weather in Buffalo sucks. It’s kind of tough to throw for over 275 yards with 50 MPH winds.
Even with all that said I still like Edwards. He is one of my sleepers.
And don’t worry about Ryan Fitzpatrick getting any consideration to start at any point throughout the year.
By the way, thank god we don’t have to every worry about watching JP Losman in a Buffalo uniform.
RBs
I have Marshawn Lynch ranked somewhere between 15-20 out of all running backs. No surprise here. Lynch is an absolute beast (his nickname, actually) and runs with just as much tenacity as anyone in the league.
The big issues here are Fred Jackson and Lynch’s 3 game suspension.
But I’m tempted to look at The Beast as the Brandon Marshall of last year. Everyone shied away from drafting him at his true value because of the suspension. And just like Marshall last year, I am confident Lynch will have the suspension reduced to only one game.
Lynch will also see the majority of the goal line carries.
But…besides Jackson (Don’t worry about Dominick Rhodes) cutting into Lynch’s carries, the O-line is somewhat depleted. So I’m going to have to keep the Beast caged in the 15-20 range. For now.
Fred Jackson - The third year back from Coe took full advantage of his opportunities in 2008, rushing for 571 yards on only 130 attempts. No doubt he is talented, and he could do some damage this year and earn a few starts at the “flex” spot on your team. I like him in the late rounds.
Dominick Rhodes – Nope.
*The Bills were only one of four teams to start out 4-0, and lost 3 games by a total of 13 points. They have been on the edge of being a good team for about two years. Dick Jauron has remained offensively conservative throughout his tenure in Buffalo. They will remain a run-first team.
More and more teams are going to the 2 back rotation. The days of killing the Larry Johnsons of the world with 40 carries in a game are approaching an end. A complementing back doesn’t always decrease the other ones value; especially for a very good football team that has success moving the ball. I don’t think Jackson and Lynch will be the Deangelo Williams and Jonathan Stewart of last year, but maybe the Bills will have a lot more success this year?
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WRs
Terrell Owens – anywhere from 10-20 on my list of wideouts.
Love him or hate him, TO has been undeniably productive for each of his last three teams. His “down year” of 2008 consisted of over 1,000 yards and double digit TD grabs.
You don’t have to worry about age or conditioning. This guy is a workout freak and takes care of himself. He sleeps in a chamber, no joke.
But I want to wait to see how he meshes with Edwards and the rest of the team before giving him a set spot. I will say, I think that a lot of people will pass on TO and draft say, Dwayne Bowe instead. I would not advise this, I laugh at this.
Worst case scenario you get 950 yards and 9 TDs from Owens. But I think he has another 1-3 years of statistical dominance in him and it wouldn’t surprise me to see Owens go for 1200 and 14 in 2009.
Lee Evans – OK, where to start. I have been nice, very nice to Buffalo so far. But here is where it stops…
Which of the following do not belong?
- Peyton Manning
- Tom Brady
- Kurt Warner
- Trent Edwards
Alright now try this one.
Which of the following do not belong?
- Anquan Boldin
- Lee Evans
- Reggie Wayne
- Randy Moss
If you answered Edwards and Evans, you are correct. What do all these QBs / WRs have in common? Each QB had or has two studs to throw to… or the QB increased the value of those WRs. Manning had Wayne and Harrison. Brady has Moss and Welker. Warner has Fitzgerald and Boldin (and Warner also had Isaac Bruce and Tory Holt in their heyday). You can even bring up Carson Palmer increasing the value of Houshmandzadeh and Chad Johnson. Do not try to put Edwards and Evans in the same category as the rest.
That said, when “experts” (cough, *ESPN, cough…can I do that?) rank TWO Buffalo Bills WRs…let me repeat…TWO BUFFALO BILLS WIDERECEIVERS…in the top 20…WITH…a QB that has as 24 games of experience and under 20 career TD passes…I am going to have to call… B.S.
I think this is why I like Trent Edwards so much. I mean, even if Edwards completely disappoints (according to expert’s opinion for this new dynamic Bill’s offense), he is going to finish with about 3800 and 28, right? Smell the sarcasm…
Josh Reed – Not worth a draft spot, but if you think the Bills will score 35+ a game then be my guest. He is only worth a roster spot if Evans or Owens goes down to injury.
TEs
Buffalo Bills TE #1, 2, & 3 are not worth a look in the draft. Well actually, someone has to catch Edwards 30 TD passes, right? I’m kidding. Don’t even put them on your draft board.
K
Rian Lindell is a very good kicker, but I would prefer to have someone on my fantasy team that wasn’t kicking against Lake Erie eight times.
Defense / Special Teams
The Bills Defense is interesting. You have the weather which of course favors them. But even though I ripped the Bills a little bit, I really do think they will be much more productive offensively. And therefore the D will be on the field for less time.
Roscoe Parish is also one of the most exciting players in the game to watch in the open field.
Bill’s Defense is another sleeper. But they are still the Bills, and only worth drafting as a backup. You also might want to watch out when they play their two games verse New England.
By Alexander R. MacNeil
ProFootball-fans.com Fantasy Football Correspondent