NFL rumors have LeSean McCoy out against the New York Giants in Week 4. These NFL rumors are bad for fantasy football owners that invested in McCoy with first-round picks this year. A report from ESPN analyst Mike Rodak has relayed some bad news from Buffalo Bills head coach Rex Ryan. Ryan states that it “doesn’t look good” for McCoy to play on Sunday, October 4 against the Giants.
The Bills are also holding McCoy out of practice, increasing the likelihood that the team will keep him off the field for at least a week. McCoy suffered a hamstring injury , something that could take a while to heal properly. The Bills may enjoy the luxury of having a good backup in rookie Karlos Williams, a running back that fantasy football owners should be targeting for a spot start.
Karlos Williams may not be a secret any longer after rushing for 110 yards on just 12 carries against the Miami Dolphins. He now has 186 rushing yards through three games , putting up those numbers on just 24 carries. That’s an average of 7.8 yards per carry, showing that he might soon be a star in the league.
NFL rumors had already predicted Williams would get more carries moving forward, but with LeSean McCoy out in Week 4, he could get a full workload. Williams has only had a small impact in the passing game, making two catches for 16 yards, but that could increase with McCoy on the sidelines. His three touchdowns also show that he knows what to do with the ball in the red zone.
While Karlos Williams has been impressive so far this season, he has a tough task against the New York Giants on Sunday. The Giants have allowed the second fewest rushing yards (74.7 yards per game) of any defense this season, suggesting his yards on the ground could take a hit. If the Bills include him more in the passing game, he could see a rise in PPR league stats, but he becomes only a borderline RB1 for Week 4.
The projections that ESPN has given Williams for Week 4 are 76.4 rushing yards, 6.5 passing yards, and 0.7 touchdowns. That works out to 10.8 points in standard leagues, which isn’t too bad for a player filling in on fantasy football rosters. While those aren’t necessarily numbers that will carry a team this week, it could certainly be a nice boost over some other options in free agency or on the waiver wire.
LeSean McCoy was putting up decent numbers through the first three weeks of the regular season, with 146 rushing yards and 83 receiving yards to his credit. He also had seven receptions and a touchdown to his credit, meaning fantasy football owners that had him on the active roster weren’t exactly struggling. Not having him in Week 4 will be difficult for owners that didn’t handcuff him to Karlos Williams for the 2015 NFL season, though. It’s a particularly tough week to find someone other than Williams in free agency because the bye weeks have started (New England Patriots and Tennessee Titans in Week 4).
Potential options worth taking a look at include Matt Jones of the Washington Redskins, Chris Johnson of the Arizona Cardinals, Tre Mason of the St. Louis Rams, and Duke Johnson Jr. of the Cleveland Browns. All four will see an increased number of snaps in Week 4, with Duke Johnson potentially putting up big numbers for the Browns against the San Diego Chargers. He should see an increase in receptions if the Browns have to play from behind once again. Mason is risky, but could see an increase in usage as well. NFL rumors indicate Chris Johnson and Matt Jones would be the best pickups, but they may not be available in many leagues.
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