Le’Veon Bell

Overview

Le’veon Bell has finally decided on the Jets! Personally, I would have really liked it if he signed with the Colts since it would make Andrew Luck (my man crush) a Super Bowl contender in my opinion. However, Bell has followed his checkbook and is now the second highest paid running back after Todd Gurley. Interestingly, Bell will make less money per year than last year’s franchise tag and make less money compared to previous offers by the Steelers.

Fantasy Value

I think Bell still has a few solid seasons left in him since he is still 27 years old and took last year off. I really like that Adam Gase is the Jets’ new head coach since he is a good OC. Gase was the OC for the Denver Broncos in 2013 when Peyton Manning had his record breaking year, so Gase should be able to maximize Bell’s skills.

There are a few concerns for me with Bell though. He is in a new system with the Jets, so there is some uncertainty there. Also, the Jets still have Isaiah Crowell and Bilal Powell on the roster, so it is still unknown about how the carries will be divided. I doubt that Bell will have the same workload in New York that he had in Pittsburgh since the Jets will try to maintain Bell for his four year contract, which hurts his fantasy value. However, it would be foolhardy on Gase’s part if he overplayed Crowell and Powell. Can you imagine if you’re a Jets fan and you see that Crowell is starting over Bell? My goodness! In addition, it is hard to predict if Bell will have the same receiving role that he had with the Steelers. I do like that Bell has a young quarterback in Sam Darnold, so Bell can be Darnold’s safety net. It’s hard to forecast Bell due to these reasons. If I had to bring my crystal ball out, I predict Bell will have around 230 carries, 1035 rushing yds, 10 rushing tds, 60 rec, 550 receiving yds, and 2 receiving tds. In a way, I kind of envision Bell’s production similar to Devonta Freeman’s production in previous seasons.

Draft Value

Bell is very hard for me to rank due to the amount of uncertainty I have about him. I view him as more of a second round guy for this reason. However, if Gase provides more clarity about Bell’s role as the season gets closer, I will feel more comfortable with moving Bell’s draft position.

Update: 3/15/19

Isaiah Crowell has been released after one season with the Jets! This move definitely improves Bell’s fantasy value since I saw Isaiah Crowell as the main threat to steal carries from Bell. Now Bilial Powell is the only other running back on the Jet’s roster, and I don’t think that anyone believes that Powell will be a big threat to steal touches from Bell. Now my only concern is injury since Bell has only one season of playing all 16 games in a season. Now I predict Bell getting at least 250 carries, 1125 rushing yds, 12 rushing tds, 65 rec, 600 receiving yds, and 2 receiving tds. I will now confidently draft Bell in the first round!