Week 10 - McCoy vs. Carolina
It's been four pretty productive fantasy weeks in a row now for LeSean McCoy, who went for 117 yards on 23 carries and added two catches for six yards last week.
This week for McCoy it's the Panthers who rank 27th in allowing fantasy points to RBs. With Mark Sanchez now under center, the Birds may provide a heavy dose of the run this week and as a result, McCoy comes in as one of our top plays at RB for Week 10. While McCoy should get his 20-plus carries, Chris Polk is now active and stole a TD away from McCoy last week. McCoy did the dirty work before Polk came on for a nice run that lead to a score. This could be a similar pattern.
Week 9 - McCoy vs. Houston
LeSean McCoy continued his resurgence with 21 carries for 83 yards last week. He added three catches for 14 yards on five targets.
They still aren't great numbers, but considering the 29 carries for 39 yards totals in Weeks 3 and 4, it's an improvement. His last three games he has totaled 67 carries and 313 yards. He's still only found the end zone one time this season, however. This week, it's the Texans who rank 18th in allowing fantasy points to RBs. McCoy comes in eighth on our list, and the Eagles could be getting center Jason Kelce back, which would be a huge lift to both the running and passing games.
Week 8 - McCoy vs. Arizona
LeSean McCoy is coming off his best statistical game of the season before the bye in Week 6. He rushed 22 times for 149 yards.
We saw some signs back in Week 5 when he picked up 81 yards on 24 carries against the Rams and the hope is the days of averaging under two yards per carry are long gone. This week, it's a tough matchup against the Cardinals, who rank seventh in allowing fantasy points to RBs, but McCoy is still ranked as a low-end RB1 at ninth on our list. He's been on a roll and should be in lineups. There's a good chance Darren Sproles plays after spraining his MCL and Chris Polk also practiced, but McCoy stands to get by far the biggest workload of the three.
Week 6 - McCoy vs. NY Giants
LeSean McCoy had a little better of a game when you consider Weeks 3 and 4 he combined for 29 carries for 39 yards. In Week 5, he carried 24 times for 81 yards. He caught four balls but only produced five yards. He also lost a fumble.
McCoy comes in ranked 8th this week on our RB list. The Giants are ranked 22nd in allowing fantasy points to RBs so it's a relatively good matchup in prime time for McCoy and his owners. At this point, owners likely have to continue to ride McCoy and hope last week was a trend in the right direction.
Week 5 - McCoy vs. St. Louis
LeSean McCoy is coming off another dud fantasy outing: He had just 10 carries for 17 yards and no TDs, and for the second straight week, no catches.
He has 29 carries and 39 yards his last two games. Darren Sproles' numbers have dropped too so it's not just McCoy. This patchwork line can't seem to open up holes. Teams are also focusing on McCoy and making the Eagles throw the ball. It's another tough matchup this week as the Rams are 10th in allowing fantasy points to RBs. Still, we have Shady seventh on our list.
It's hard to sit him knowing he can go off at any moment, but the low single-digit points are likely killing owners. RT Lane Johnson returns this week which could help. I'd roll with him the next two weeks, home games vs. Rams and Giants followed by a bye week and then re-evaluate the situation.
Week 4 - McCoy vs. San Francisco
Just when you thought LeSean McCoy's rushing totals couldn't get any worse, he carried 19 times for 22 yards and didn't catch a ball.
It's not often you find LeSean McCoy ranked below Donald Brown and Lamar Miller in our rankings, but that's the case this week. (It's more a tribute to Brown and Miller's matchups and workload than anything else, as McCoy is still sixth on our list.)
McCoy's struggles could very well be due to a banged up O-line, but last week Washington seemed to make it a point to take out McCoy. They are also ranked second in allowing fantasy points to RBs. McCoy's also pressing, and dancing a lot more to try to find open space.
This week isn't a great matchup either, as the 49ers rank third in allowing fantasy points to RBs, but McCoy is still a guy who should still be in your lineup. Things get a little easier in the immediate future for McCoy and the rushing game matchup-wise, and the return of RT Lane Johnson next week.
Week 3 - McCoy vs. Washington
LeSean McCoy is playing second fiddle to Darren Sproles these days. He finished with 20 carries for 79 yards and a TD and added four catches for 23 yards but it was Sproles who stole the show Monday night.
A big misconception is Sproles is stealing McCoy's work, but it's not quite true. McCoy is on pace for 357 touches after two games, and had 366 last year, so he's still getting his work, just not quite producing at last year's pace. As a result, McCoy is still a top play, and a must play, among RBs. Washington ranks 29th in allowing fantasy points to RBs so this is a great matchup this week.
Week 2 vs. Colts
LeSean McCoy struggled in Week 1 which was supposed to be an easy matchup. By the time the Birds needed to adjust their offensive attack, the team trailed 17-0 at the half. Still, McCoy carried 21 times for 74 yards and had six catches for 41 yards. The bad news is Darren Sproles seemed to have the holes running the football, and the team turned to him a little bit in the running game.
McCoy will bounce back and we have him ranked second this week among our RBs. Sproles won't be able to handle a workload that big every game, so it will have to fall back on Shady at some point. It's only an OK matchup on paper (Colts 13th in allowing points to RBs) but matchups on paper were never really a concern for McCoy owners in the past. Feel free to safely start him against the Colts.
Week 1 vs Jaguars
LeSean McCoy starts off the NFL season being the top-ranked RB on our list for Week 1. It's a juicy, home matchup against the Jags who ranked 23rd in allowing fantasy points to RBs last year. The Birds could get up big in this one and ride the running game to kill the clock. With a banged up Chris Polk behind him, McCoy should be in for a big day losing a few carries to Darren Sproles.
Fantasy Upside
McCoy had a monster season in 2013, leading the league in rushing and getting a ton of carries in Kelly’s fast-paced offense. He can do it all, hit the hole, use his speed outside and catch passes. There’s no reason not to expect much of the same this season from McCoy.
Fantasy Downside
The Eagles traded for Darren Sproles in the offseason so there’s a chance he’s going to steal some catches from McCoy this year. But keep in mind McCoy had 52 receptions last season and we project him for 47 this season, so not that big of a drop even with Sproles working his way in there.
Bottom Line
McCoy is a top-three running back this season and you can argue he’s a top-three fantasy player overall. We rank him number-two in standard leagues and number-three in PPR. If you pick early in your draft and you want to target a back, McCoy will be a guy you can plug and play every week and not have concerns.
