Bills Fantasy Football Take Aways From First Preseason Game

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Buffalo Bills vs Indianapolis Colts Preseason Recap

Aug 13, 2016; Orchard Park, NY, USA; Indianapolis Colts center Ryan Kelly (78) waits to snap the ball during the first half against the Buffalo Bills at Ralph Wilson Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Timothy T. Ludwig-USA TODAY Sports /

The Buffalo Bills played their first preseason game against the Indianapolis Colts last Saturday. Let’s take a look at what information we can take away from it for Fantasy Football.

At quarterback, Tyrod Taylor only played the first drive so not much to take away there. No one will be drafting a Bills backup but if Tyrod Taylor gets injured Cardale Jones might be the guy to pick up.

He was way more impressive than E.J. Manuel. Cardale looked more polished in the pocket and had a few key runs including a huge one on fourth down towards the end of the game to keep the drive alive. The knock on him in the draft is that he is extremely raw but he’s showing some promise early.

The Bills top three players on the depth chart at running back didn’t see much of the field. Karlos Williams was still on the Non-Football Injury List because he is overweight and did not play. Reggie Bush didn’t receive a rushing carry and was only allowed to return punts early in the game before Walter Powell took over.

LeSean McCoy only played the first drive. He was the one with the single carry for nine yards. He looked great on his sole rushing attempt but he won’t play much this preseason as a precaution.

Bills running back Jonathan Williams was impressive in his preseason debut. He got eight carries which was the most on the team. Williams ran for 44 yards on those carries for a solid 5.5 per carry. He tended to get many runs between the tackles which have less breakout potential and force the back to work for every yard.

They used him as a power rusher so it seems like he could be the change of pace “bruising back” for the first four games while Karlos Williams is suspended even if Reggie Bush is ahead of him on the depth chart.

Mike Gillislee got three carries for 25 yards. They mostly used his speed to rush around the edge like they did last year. James Wilder Jr. and Boom Herron turned in a very poor performance by rushing nine times combined for just one yard. I can’t picture either of these two guys on the final 53 man roster.

At wide receiver, Walter Powell was the man of the day. He led the receivers with four catches for 88 yards with 40 of them coming on one big play up the middle of the field on the final drive.

Leonard Hankerson was the most targeted wideout with seven targets but he only caught one ball and had three drops. His performance was so bad the Bills cut him earlier this week.

Jarrett Boykin and Greg Little had four targets each and Robert Woods had three. Boykin and tight end Chris Gragg caught a touchdown a piece though neither are draftable in fantasy leagues.

Both Sammy Watkins and Charles Clay were inactive which is a shame because they are two of the three top Bills receiving threats along with Robert Woods.

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Dez Lewis who injured his shoulder in a collision with Aaron Williams during practice was also inactive.

According to Chris Brown of BuffaloBills.com the snap count for the receivers were:

Greg Little – 40 snaps
Leonard Hankerson – 38 snaps
Jarrett Boykin – 32 snaps
Walter Powell – 30 snaps
Kain Colter – 22 snaps
Marquise Goodwin – 13 snaps
Robert Woods – 13 snaps

That’s it for the offense, but what about the Bills defense? Did they perform well enough in the game to consider drafting in a ten or twelve team league?

Next: How Did The Bills Defense Play In The First Preseason Game?

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