I have some interest in LeVeon Bell. I think there’s some chance he puts together a bounce-back season. I just wish he played for another coach.
Bell has the good pass-catching ability. He caught 66 balls last year. That helps him greatly in PPR formats. And the Jets will have a better offensive line this year. And Bell isn’t an old guy – he’s 28.
All this said, if you’re selecting Bell, you’re tying yourself to Adam Gase, and that’s a little unnerving. Way too often he tends to forget about his running game, and he’s capable of all kinds of craziness. He recently signed Frank Gore, for example, and why do I get the ugly feeling they might trot him out there for about half of their plays?
Gase underused Kenyan Drake in Miami.
It’s around the goal-line where Gase tends to do his worst work.
The Jets last year ran the ball on a league-low 8 plays inside the 5-yard line.
The previous season, in Miami, Gase’s offense ran the ball a league-low 7 times inside the 5-yard line.
The previous season (back in 2017), Gase’s offense ran the ball a league-low 3 times inside the 5-yard line.
Over the last three years, all but one non-Gase team has had at least twice as many rushing plays inside the 5. Over half the league has run the ball at three times as often.
So I don’t envision Bell running in a bunch of 1- and 2-yard touchdowns.
On this chart below, I’m including 2-point conversions (which aren’t technically considered official plays, but whatever).
| RUSHING PLAYS INSIDE THE 5 (last 3 years) | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team | Att | Yds | Avg | TD | 2Pt | EZ% |
| New England | 91 | 102 | 1.12 | 39 | 1 | 44.0% |
| LA Rams | 90 | 132 | 1.47 | 41 | 2 | 47.8% |
| New Orleans | 85 | 94 | 1.11 | 34 | 4 | 44.7% |
| Baltimore | 81 | 77 | .95 | 27 | 3 | 37.0% |
| Carolina | 77 | 102 | 1.32 | 32 | 2 | 44.2% |
| Philadelphia | 71 | 80 | 1.13 | 24 | 8 | 45.1% |
| San Francisco | 70 | 36 | .51 | 24 | 0 | 34.3% |
| Minnesota | 67 | 80 | 1.19 | 27 | 1 | 41.8% |
| Tampa Bay | 67 | 73 | 1.09 | 28 | 4 | 47.8% |
| Dallas | 66 | 92 | 1.39 | 28 | 2 | 45.5% |
| Kansas City | 65 | 94 | 1.45 | 30 | 1 | 47.7% |
| Tennessee | 62 | 57 | .92 | 27 | 1 | 45.2% |
| Indianapolis | 60 | 70 | 1.17 | 26 | 2 | 46.7% |
| Cleveland | 60 | 38 | .63 | 25 | 3 | 46.7% |
| Atlanta | 57 | 45 | .79 | 20 | 0 | 35.1% |
| Buffalo | 57 | 24 | .42 | 21 | 1 | 38.6% |
| LA Chargers | 56 | 53 | .95 | 23 | 1 | 42.9% |
| Jacksonville | 56 | 51 | .91 | 21 | 0 | 37.5% |
| Houston | 55 | 75 | 1.36 | 27 | 1 | 50.9% |
| Pittsburgh | 55 | 50 | .91 | 27 | 0 | 49.1% |
| Chicago | 54 | 85 | 1.57 | 24 | 1 | 46.3% |
| Oakland | 54 | 72 | 1.33 | 21 | 0 | 38.9% |
| Detroit | 53 | 56 | 1.06 | 21 | 0 | 39.6% |
| NY Giants | 53 | 49 | .92 | 15 | 2 | 32.1% |
| Seattle | 53 | 28 | .53 | 18 | 0 | 34.0% |
| Cincinnati | 51 | 62 | 1.22 | 22 | 1 | 45.1% |
| Denver | 50 | 61 | 1.22 | 23 | 0 | 46.0% |
| Green Bay | 47 | 59 | 1.26 | 25 | 1 | 55.3% |
| Washington | 46 | 44 | .96 | 20 | 0 | 43.5% |
| NY Jets | 42 | 59 | 1.40 | 20 | 1 | 50.0% |
| Arizona | 36 | 44 | 1.22 | 20 | 0 | 55.6% |
| Miami | 27 | 14 | .52 | 9 | 1 | 37.0% |
| Adam Gase | 19 | 23 | 1.21 | 7 | 1 | 42.1% |
—Ian Allan