The Bills let Mike Gillislee leave as a restricted free agent, and that looks like a misstep; he was pretty good for them the last couple of seasons. But it looks like they have some faith in second-year running back Jonathan Williams, who stands to inherit a pretty nice situation for a backup.
As a rookie, Williams was Buffalo's No. 3 running back, and he didn't do very much. But Williams reveals that he was still working his way back from a foot injury suffered in college. He wasn't able to work out, and that hurt him at Buffalo's rookie minicamp and offseason activities.
"I’m definitely 100 percent healthy now," says Williams. "I’ve been able to get a really good offseason in. I’m a lot healthier than last year and a lot leaner and excited to go.”
So, maybe? Definitely a name to keep in mind when drafting handcuffs in the later rounds of drafts. Last year the only No. 2 running back who rushed for more yards than Buffalo's No. 2 was Bilal Powell.
| NO. 2 RUNNING BACKS, 2016 | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Player | Att | Yds | Avg | Lg | TD |
| Bilal Powell, NYJ | 131 | 722 | 5.5 | 35 | 3 |
| Mike Gillislee, Buff. | 101 | 577 | 5.7 | 44 | 8 |
| Tim Hightower, N.O. | 133 | 548 | 4.1 | 30 | 4 |
| Tevin Coleman, Atl. | 118 | 520 | 4.4 | 55 | 8 |
| Jalen Richard, Oak. | 83 | 491 | 5.9 | 75 | 1 |
| Derrick Henry, Tenn. | 110 | 490 | 4.5 | 22 | 5 |
| Matt Jones, Wash. | 99 | 460 | 4.6 | 57 | 3 |
| Paul Perkins, NYG | 112 | 456 | 4.1 | 22 | 0 |
| Chris Ivory, Jac. | 117 | 439 | 3.8 | 42 | 3 |
| Darren Sproles, Phil. | 94 | 438 | 4.7 | 25 | 2 |
| C.J. Anderson, Den. | 110 | 437 | 4.0 | 28 | 4 |
| Doug Martin, T.B. | 144 | 421 | 2.9 | 17 | 3 |
| Alfred Blue, Hou. | 100 | 420 | 4.2 | 25 | 1 |
| Matt Asiata, Minn. | 121 | 402 | 3.3 | 29 | 6 |
| Kenneth Dixon, Balt. | 88 | 382 | 4.3 | 20 | 2 |
| Eddie Lacy, G.B. | 71 | 360 | 5.1 | 31 | 0 |
| Duke Johnson, Clev. | 73 | 358 | 4.9 | 22 | 1 |
| Thomas Rawls, Sea. | 109 | 349 | 3.2 | 45 | 3 |
| Rex Burkhead, Cin. | 74 | 344 | 4.6 | 17 | 2 |
| DeAngelo Williams, Pitt. | 98 | 343 | 3.5 | 17 | 4 |
| Zach Zenner, Det. | 88 | 334 | 3.8 | 20 | 4 |
| Charcandrick West, K.C. | 88 | 293 | 3.3 | 28 | 1 |
| Dion Lewis, N.E. | 64 | 283 | 4.4 | 15 | 0 |
| Fozzy Whittaker, Car. | 57 | 265 | 4.6 | 25 | 0 |
| Alfred Morris, Dall. | 69 | 243 | 3.5 | 17 | 2 |
| Jeremy Langford, Chi. | 62 | 200 | 3.2 | 23 | 4 |
| Shaun Draughn, S.F. | 74 | 196 | 2.6 | 18 | 4 |
| Kenneth Farrow, S.D. | 60 | 192 | 3.2 | 11 | 0 |
| Kenyan Drake, Mia. | 33 | 179 | 5.4 | 45 | 2 |
| Robert Turbin, Ind. | 47 | 164 | 3.5 | 18 | 7 |
| Kerwynn Williams, Ariz. | 18 | 157 | 8.7 | 49 | 2 |
| Benny Cunningham, L.A. | 21 | 101 | 4.8 | 24 | 0 |
--Andy Richardson