Buffalo Bills: The 5 best players on the roster in 2018
By Dennis Moody
1. LeSean McCoy
Last season, LeSean McCoy surpassed 10,000 career yards rushing. Although he’ll turn 30 in just a few days, he still has less wear and tear on him than most running backs that have accumulated that type of mileage. The reason is McCoy’s shifty running style that usually prevents him from taking hard hits square on from defensive players.
Since entering the league in 2009 he’s been a dynamic rushing threat. He’s surpassed 1,000 yards in every single year that he’s played more than 12 games, excluding his rookie year. In fact, he’s consistently finished in the top of the league ranks in total rushing yards in each of those seasons since 2011.
2011 – 4th in total rushing yards
2013 – 1st in total rushing yards
2014 – 3rd in total rushing yards
2016 – 6th in total rushing yards
2017 – 4th in total rushing yards
On top of being one of the league’s best and most talented runners, he’s a dynamic receiving threat averaging 49 catches and 375 receiving yards per season over his career. If there is any knock on him, it’s he’s not as consistent scoring touchdowns, but that’s due to the nature of his rushing style.
His specialty is not being a north-south runner who gets the ball on the one-yard line to plow up the middle. That causes him to lose a few carries near the goal-line each season which hurts his touchdown totals. Nevertheless, he is clearly still the Bills’ best and most important player.
Consider how much he meant to their offense last season with the following statistic… According to ESPN, McCoy had 1,138 rushing yards and 448 receiving yards for a total of 1,586 all-purpose yards. The Bills entire offense only had 4,482 yards on the season meaning LeSean McCoy made up 32.8 percent of the team’s offensive production.
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No one is going to question whether Shady is pulling his “one-eleventh” for the team. He’s practically pulling three-elevenths based on that stat. This is what clearly makes LeSean McCoy the Buffalo Bills’ best player for the 2018 season.