Hear that? It's the pitter-patter of fantasy football season approaching. Fantasy FanHouse is here to get you ready by previewing every team from a fantasy perspective.
Meet the ...
Beast Modes. Sorry, that's just all I think about when I start analyzing the Buffalo Bills. I can't help it. My mancrush on Marshawn Lynch just runs too deep. I actually loved the Bills as a sleeper team last year and think the same thing in 2008. Trent Edwards and Lynch are an up-and-coming young duo and Lee Evans obviously has gobs of talent, even if it comes on sporadically. However, this team is young, which means growing pains in real and fantasy football.
Breakout
I'm classifying 'Beast Mode' Lynch as this year's breakout on this squad. Yes, he had 1,000 yards last year, but when doesn't a back break 1k these days? I think he's going to flirt with 1,500 this season and will end up catching substantially more balls out of the backfield than last year. If you check his game logs, he didn't really start to come on strong until Edwards took over, but he was a model of consistency when he was on the field. If he stays healthy for the whole season, you can pencil in 1,700 total yards.
Bust
Lee Evans has the potential to be one of the most elite wide receivers in all of football. But potential doesn't put a great quarterback or high-octane passing system on your team. J.P. Losman, for all his faults, was Evans' guy and they locked up pretty regularly. Of course, it didn't help that last season, the Bills were actually competitive in most of their games, meaning they threw the ball substantially less in the second half on Sundays. Evans, being the king of junk time fantasy stats, suffered some. I actually think he'll mesh a little with Edwards this year and if I could land him as a WR3, I would. But given the choice between someone like Dwayne Bowe or Evans, I'm going with the Show.
Depth Chart
QB -- Trent Edwards
RB1 -- Marshawn Lynch
RB2 -- Fred Jackson
WR1 -- Lee Evans
WR2 -- James Hardy
WR3 -- Josh Reed
TE -- Robert Royal
Team D/ST
The Bills have a pretty decent defensive unit this year (as they did, secretly, last season). Don't forget too, that 90-plus of their total points allowed last year were at the hands of the Patriots. Of course, they have to play New England twice this year too, which is problematic. Still, they added hard-nosed Paul Posluszny in the draft and picked up Marcus Stroud as a free agent and Terrence McGee is a dangerous cornerback and return man. However, bear in mind that the schedule is pretty dicey throughout (SD, NE twice, STL, JAX), which makes them more of a plug n' play than anything else.
Skinny
There's definite fantasy value to be had here. Lynch is -- ideally -- a RB2. But that's ideal -- his average draft position right now is 14 and he's easily going top ten in some leagues. I would draft him as a lower-end RB1 in a heartbeat though. Evans I'll grab as a WR3, assuming, like two years ago, he's the best option on the board at that point. But taking him as a WR2 just reeks of a mistake if guys like Bowe or Santonio Holmes are available. Edwards is a decent lower-end QB2, or a backup with sleeper potential if you take a high-end QB, but he should be phenomenally cheap anyway, so it won't matter much. Hardy is a later-round flier with some potential for bye week filler depending on how he progresses, and Royal's a nice option if you don't like paying for your TE.
