Willis McGahee

[tanner]

the loss of Jonas Jennings is going to hurt McGahee bigtime..Mike Mularkey has always been able to get his offenses to run the ball well..but this might need his best effort..Losman has a long, long way to go to be a serviceable QB...He missed most of 2004 while hurt, he couldn't practice either...and when he did start, he look horrible..

I'm not sure I'd put McGahee in the top 5 either...7 to 10 seems about right...
Buffalo to me looks like one of those teams that overacheived last year, and will probably drop to 7-9, 6-10...
They have to play NE & Jets twice, Falcons, SD,Carolina, Miami, Saints..
all of these defenses have a great front 7...Losman is going to get blitzed all year long..
Losman will be a deer in the headlights..and that'll hurt McGahee's value..

[moochman]

While I think that top 5 might be a bit strong, I couldn't rag on anyone for rating him there. He looked like an absolute elite level RB the few times I watched him run last season. He show a rare blend of speed and power. I do believe that he could do better as he learns more how the Bills O, which put up great RB numbers with a slower, less powerful Henry, and more on how defenses play him. When I look at his weaknesses I can't find many. Looking at his up-side and I can see him being a top five pick.

And davidmarver, I'll save you the trouble I did think that Barlow would put up good numbers last season. My bad, total misread of the affect of a @#$%^$ head coach. He's a nice sleeper this year.

[Sixxgunn]

Redraft- LT2, SA, Priest, Edge, Deuce, Willis
Keeper- LT2, SA, Willis, Preist, Edge, Deuce

Wow, I can't really see Priest going there over McAllister in a keeper. The rest of the list I toatally agree, but I think you flip flop Priest with Edge and put Duece ahead of them both.

Keeper

LT
SA
McGahee
McAllister
Priest
Edge

Eh, I still have trouble deciding those 4-6, I prefer Edge to Deuce but both could go ahead of Priest in a keeper. What makes Deuce so much better than Edge anyways?

Not really so much better, but those spots are so close I could probably waver back and forth. I just feel Deuce is still going to have quite a few productive years left in him, where Edge can start seeing a decline soon, and the TD's are always a factor. When healthy, Deuce can get some decent TD totals, as well as receiving yards, and with the new O in NO, I think he will benefit greatly. Then there is the contract issue. Deuce will likely get signed long term, while Edge is almost a certainty to be on a new team, and it doesn't necessarily mean it will be a good move for him.

[davidmarver]

I think he's overrated because of his 4 ypc avg and the fact that his TD totals are a bit misleading due to the 4 TD day. While he could repeat a 4 TD day, I dont think he will anytime soon.

Also, the loss of Jennings to the OLine could be perceived as a negative for him as well.

I just think for him to justify a top 5 pick, he would need to improve on his YPC numbers in an environment that may not be as good as it was last yr - basically an uphill battle.

At the end of the day, whether or not Willis should be a top 5 RB should depend on what you think his TD totals will be because his yardage totals dont suggest a top 5 RB.

I already mentioned this earlier, but a lot of the elite running backs start their career with a season under 4.0 ypc. Emmitt Smith's rookie campaign had a ypc of 3.9. Tomlinson only had a 3.6 ypc his rookie season.

I actually wouldn't expect anything more than 4.3-4.5 out of McGahee this season because he will be getting the ball so frequently, even in unfavorable situations. Does it really matter, though? He's going to be given the ball so much that a low ypc won't stop him from getting 1400+ yards.

If McGahee started every game last season he would have been in the top five for fantasy runners, that much is certain.

[Tiki]

Great post.

Lol! Aussie I havn't seen you in some mounths good to have ya back!

[cordscords]

Sorry for the bump, but it was linked in another thread.

Just to add a little bit of news, he ran through tackle Jonas Jennings on 75% of his runs last year. Can Mike Gandy open up the same holes as Jennings?