Alarm Bell: The Dynasty Impact of Le’Veon Bell on the Chiefs
Over his first five seasons in Pittsburgh, Le’Veon Bell was one of the most explosive players in all of fantasy football. In fact, he averaged more yards from scrimmage in his first five seasons than anyone in NFL history. With 5,336 rushing yards, 312 catches, 2,660 receiving yards and an insane total of 42 touchdowns for the Steelers over those five seasons, Bell sat out the entire 2018 season in hopes of getting a new contract with Pittsburgh. After Pittsburgh called his bluff, he eventually signed a monster contract with the New York Jets and it was nothing short of a total disaster when all was said and done. Whether Bell was over the hill, out of shape, not used correctly or simply fell out of favor with the organization is yet to be seen. Bell expressed a desire to be traded again this week and after the Jets found no suitable offers, they cut him and swallowed his exorbitant salary. Bell quickly found a new home with the Kansas City Chiefs tonight. This move has some long-ranging dynasty impact, so let’s take a look at the players affected.
Le’Veon Bell, RB KC
Bell’s tenure with the Jets can only be described as a total cluster. He was signed by a GM who was then replaced and given to a coach who never wanted him in the first place – not exactly a recipe for success. In 17 games with the Jets, Bell rushed for 863 yards and just three touchdowns. He also averaged a mediocre 3.3 yards per carry, which put him in the bottom of qualifying running backs during that time. Sure, the offensive line was bad and the system wasn’t tailored to him. But still, this is Le’Veon Bell we’re talking about. It seems like he could have done something.
The big question now is if Father Time has simply caught up to Bell and rendered him a mere mortal. It’s quite possible as Bell is now 28 and spent an entire year out of the league. He hasn’t looked explosive at all the past two seasons and hasn’t posted a run beyond 20 yards now in years. On the plus side, Bell will now enter an offense where he won’t see nearly the attention he did in New York as he was really the only offensive weapon for the Jets and their predictable offense. Frankly speaking, any team now is going to take their chances with Bell hurting them instead of stacking the box and daring Patrick Mahomes to pick them apart.
The Dolphins and Bills were apparently in the running for Bell until he signed tonight. You could argue each of those teams had a clearer path for Bell to be more of a primary option. In Kansas City, he is going to compete with Clyde Edwards-Helaire for touches and isn’t guaranteed much of anything. While this feels like more of a splash in Kansas City than the LeSean McCoy experiment from last year, Bell has a lot to prove in order to earn a ton of playing time. The best guess is he’ll form a 1-2 committee with Clyde Edwards-Helaire that will include a lot of passing game and goal line work. I wouldn’t make a play for Le’Veon at this point as he still seems like a flex player at best until we see glimpses of his old self (if we ever do). Still, this move is going to be good for his ADP. He’ll at least get the rest of this season to prove his worthy of another long-term deal next off-season. Those who have him rostered will also clearly know if his time is done or if he just needed a Ryan Tannehill-like change of scenery.
Clyde Edwards-Heliare, RB KC
Well, this is shot to the gut. Edwards-Helaire was supposed to emerge as one of fantasy football’s greatest weapons this season and it simply hasn’t happened as of yet. So far this season, CEH has posted 344 rushing yards, 17 catches, 169 receiving yards and scored just one touchdown in five games. While that’s clearly not awful, he’s barely hanging on to statistical RB1 status as the current RB12 on the season with a per game average of 14.86.
So, now what?
First, don’t panic. This is simply Andy Reid being Andy Reid. When he sees a player he thinks can help in some fashion, he jumps on it. While this may affect the short-term value of Edwards-Helaire, I don’t believe this is an indictment on his future as the Chiefs primary running back at all. Honestly, we haven’t seen anything in the past three years that would lead us to believe Bell is going to somehow show up and take over as the lead back. While we clearly have a committee of sorts for this season, Bell is going to do one of two things – be really good and sign a long-term deal elsewhere or fade into the sunset. Either way, this looks like short-term pain more than long-term destruction in terms of Edwards-Helaire’s value. While his ADP is going to suffer, I actually think this could open a little “buy low” window for Edwards-Helaire. He’s likely going to be more of an RB2 than an RB1 the rest of this year, though. If anything, this is going to be a shot across the bow for him to start producing like a first round running back should be.
Lamical Perine, RB NYJ
Adam Gase is on record saying he doesn’t want to overload Perine too early. Everyone else is on record saying Adam Gase is insane. The Jets are going to need to see what they have in Perine sooner, rather than later and it’s clear his time is coming. I’d be grabbing some Perine shares from owners who are frustrated at the moment, especially if Gase rides Frank Gore for another week or two.
Frank Gore, RB NYJ
With Bell out of the way, it looks like Gore is in line to start again, at least until Gase turns to Perine or gets fired. It’s tough to get too excited here, though. Gore has a 3.2 yards per carry average on the season, Joe Flacco at quarterback and is 37 years old. If you’re starting Gore in your league, you have to be really desperate. He’s a legend, but this team is awful.
Myles Gaskin, RB MIA
The winner in this whole saga ironically may be Gaskin (and possibly Devin Singletary). If Bell would have signed with the Dolphins, he likely would have taken over immediately for Gaskin (and for Singletary in Buffalo as well). Now, it looks like Gaskin will have the rest of the season to prove to the Dolphins he can handle the load. While early returns have been average, he’s getting a bigger chance than many thought he would this year.
In the end, Bell is going from the league’s worst offense to the league’s best. There are a whole host of questions yet to be answered, but those who have him rostered are at least going to be thankful they will get a clear indication of what his future looks like, something they just weren’t going to get with him staying on the Jets.
Ken is on Twitter at DLF_KenK
