Le’Veon Bell, New York Jets. (Photo by Jim McIsaac/Getty Images)
Running back Le’Veon Bell finished as RB17 in some PPR leagues last year. With a potential slight uptick in 2020, is he worth the mid-round fantasy pick?
Le’Veon Bell‘s first season with the New York Jets wasn’t all that great. It was a strange year for the Jets, as the general manager who signed him in Mike Maccagnan was fired quickly after the draft, Adam Gase was in his first year as the head coach and starting quarterback Sam Darnold contracted mononucleosis. So no, we didn’t get anything close to what we expected out of Bell.
However, The Fantasy Footballers did point out that even in a trying year Bell still managed to be RB17 in some fantasy leagues. While he may never be the superstar running back he was with the Pittsburgh Steelers, is Bell worth the mid-round fantasy draft risk? Will he better or worse than his RB17 standing in 2020?
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Andy Holloway views this as a slight buy because of a greater sense of offensive continuity in New York. Bell and Gase may have their issues, but familiarity with each other could be key in helping Darnold progress in year three out of USC. Jason Moore doesn’t buy into Bell because he believes we’ve already seen the best out of him and he’s only going to get worse as a player.
As for Mike Wright, he’s more bullish on Bell than either of his colleagues. He believes Bell’s pass-catching ability out of the backfield will act as a safety blanket for Darnold, as Bell garners even more fantasy value. While he may lose a carry or two here and there to the ageless Frank Gore, the guys believe Bell will find pay dirt more than three times in 2020.
Holloway does believe Bell is worth the fantasy football draft risk because he can still be an undervalued RB2 on your team. Should you load up on receiving talent with your top-two picks, Bell could be a solid fourth-round pick for you, all things considered. Though this move does offer serious boom-or-bust potential, it’s one worth making if you trust your abilities as a drafter.
Ultimately, we’re going to know very quickly if Bell has fantasy viability for 2020 or not. Should he and Gase have continued friction and Bell looks even more like a shell of himself, it could be Gore’s time to shine in a new uniform. Either way, 2020 is a critical year for Bell as an NFL player and if he can still be valuable in fantasy football leagues across the world.