Fantasy Football Start LeSean McCoy and Carlos Hyde This Week

LeSean McCoy is in for a big week with an extremely favorable matchup in Fantasy Football. Carlos Hyde should do just fine as well.

What happens when the team averaging the third most rushing yards per game (137.2) goes against the team letting up the second most rushing yards per game (146.8)? LeSean McCoy has a monster game, that’s what happens. Pro Football Focus lists McCoy as the third best running back to start this week in fantasy leagues for this very reason.

At the end of the week, Shady could be the second leading rusher in the NFL and tops in the AFC. Currently, McCoy has the fourth-most yards in the league. With his favorable matchup, he should be able to pass David Johnson who has just 10 more yards than him. Johnson has a tough matchup against the Jets who give up the second least running yards per game this season.

The other player that McCoy could climb ahead of is Demarco Murray who has 17 more yards than him. Murray faces Cleveland which is a favorable matchup but not as good as McCoy’s matchup against San Francisco.

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There are two main factors that contribute to San Fransisco’s poor performance against the run outside of their lack of talent on defense. The 49ers have been blown out by an average of over 14 points per game the past four weeks allowing teams to establish leads on them and then run the ball down their throat until time expires.

The other thing that hurts the 49ers is that they have the fastest offense in the league averaging a play every 24.14 seconds according to Football Outsiders. Running that type of offense is great when you’re clicking on all cylinders and have the defense on their heels but it’s terrible when you are tied for the third-most punts in the league with 28. On top of that, the 49ers have the third highest three and out percentage in the league (31.82 percent) according to SportingCharts.com.

While the Bills have a favorable matchup, and McCoy should crush it, the rest of their backs should remain on your bench. The most carries and yards a Bills running back has had besides McCoy this season came in Week 4 against New England when Mike Gillislee had six carries for 30 yards. Shady is the workhorse right now in the Bills backfield and remains the only running back who should be put in your lineup.

While the 49ers offense has been terrible this season, the running game has been the one bright spot. The team averages the eighth most average rushing yards per game and their lead back Carlos Hyde is ninth in the NFL in total yards. So far, Hyde has averaged just over 75 yards per game but where he really adds value in fantasy is with his six rushing touchdowns. That’s tied for tops in the NFL with Melvin Gordon. He’s scored a touchdown in every game except Week 2 against Carolina.

Hyde gets a steady dose of carries with the sixth-most rushing attempts in the league. He faces a Buffalo defense that’s ranked 13th in average rushing yards allowed per game (97.2). Buffalo will likely be without their big man in the middle, Marcell Dareus, which bodes well for Hyde but Dareus has yet to play this season and it hasn’t been an issue for the Bills defense.

It’s not the best matchup for Carlos Hyde but it’s not the worst either. He should be able to match his averages this season with about 75 to 80 yards and a touchdown. A solid day for a fantasy back. One thing that could push his numbers down is if the Bills go up big and the 49ers are forced to pass. However, that’s happened pretty consistently over the past four weeks and yet Hyde has still been productive so there isn’t too much to worry about there.

Next: Don’t Start Tyrod Taylor or Colin Kaepernick This Week

The bottom line is if you have LeSean McCoy or Carlos Hyde you have to start them this week but McCoy fantasy owners are more likely to be happier at the end of the week than Hyde owners.

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