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Cover your ears Ronald Jones, Bruce Arians has a new veteran runner. On Thursday we found out that the Buccaneers had struck a deal with LeSean McCoy, who throws another key at what could be a handsome backcourt. Of course, it could also be a complete headache for Fantasy managers.
McCoy spent 2019 with the Chiefs and it was a rollercoaster ride. He averaged 4.6 yards per carry for the season and had 93 total yards in Week 1. In the first four weeks of the season, he averaged more than 11 Fantasy points per game. But he fell out of favor at the end of the year and played a single hit in the playoffs. McCoy was not even active for the Super Bowl. So how much is left in the 32-year-old tank is certainly up for debate.
McCoy joins Jones, Dare Ogunbowale and rookie Ke’Shawn Vaughn in what is suddenly a crowded field in Tampa Bay. Jones is by far the most positive, but he fought with consistency and pass protection in 2019. Jones only won 18 more carries than Peyton Barber and saw six fewer goals than Ogunbowale. In 2019, Arians was not convinced that Jones is a return feature and this move suggests that it may not have changed.
Remember, this is the same head coach who used Chris Johnson extensively despite David Johnson’s explosiveness as a rookie. With the abbreviated offseason we’ve had now, I now have questions about whether we’ll see Vaughn on the field in the first half of the season. The fact that Vaughn started the year on the Reserve / COVID-19 list could also have contributed to this signature.
With all this negativity, it’s worth noting that it’s still projected to be one of the best offenses in the league and that they still have Tom Brady as the quarterback. And this could just be a deep signature that doesn’t impact Jones much at all. If he or McCoy (or even Vaughn) could land even 50% of the carries and targets, they’d be in the top 25. You’ll see my updated projections for the Tampa Bay backfield below, but the advantage presented by the offense means it can Write these backups a little more than they project.
Jones is 28th for me as a runner after this move and it’s still worth choosing early in the seventh round. McCoy now moves into the equation like a dart throw that you can throw in double-digit rounds. In the new redaction, I would now prefer it to be Vaughn and Ogunbowale, but neither of them should be drafted in the first 10 rounds.
Jones is still the most exciting in this field and we might look back and laugh at some point by worrying that the Buccaneers have signed McCoy. But at least this needs to slow down the hype train that was being built around Jones. If you’re optimistic, that just means you can recruit him one round later.
Here are my updated projections for the Buccaneers:
