Buffalo Bills fantasy football preview, Week 2: Is Josh Allen a sleeper?

The Buffalo Bills made a switch at quarterback this week, benching Nathan Peterman in favor of rookie Josh Allen. Head coach Sean McDermott is looking for an offensive spark that at least resembles competence after a pathetic showing from the position last week against the Baltimore Ravens.

As a fantasy football manager and a Buffalo Bills homer, some of us may be tempted to add Allen to our fantasy roster (some of us may have already done so). Is Allen worth a start this week as the Bills host the Los Angeles Chargers? Yahoo! projects Allen to score 10.15 points this week, throwing for 199 yards with 1 touchdown and 1 interception. They also project that he will run once for three yards.

This projection places Allen at the bottom of the Yahoo! quarterback rankings for the week, three points behind Sam Bradford of the Arizona Cardinals. If you’re feeling lucky, or your quarterback situation isn’t terribly stable, you may want to take a flier on Buffalo’s great hope. Otherwise, Allen is best left on the waiver wire for now, or added in deeper leagues, dynasty leagues, or leagues that play two QBs or a “super flex.”

As for the other Bills to think about playing, here are some of the better bets for the weekend.

RB LeSean McCoy

You have to play him...right? If he’s on your roster, you can’t sit him. After a terrible week one showing (7 carries, 22 yards; 1 reception, -1 yard), McCoy is in line for a bounce-back day in Buffalo’s home opener. Offensive coordinator Brian Daboll will certainly look to take the pressure off of Allen, making his first career start, so McCoy should see a much heavier workload than he had in the first week.

WR Kelvin Benjamin

This is a gut feeling here, but after head coach Sean McDermott called Benjamin out publicly in his Wednesday press conference, the veteran wideout should have plenty of motivation to play better. I also expect the quarterback play to be far more competent with Allen at the helm instead of Peterman. In any case, Benjamin was two drops in the pouring rain away from salvaging his Week One stat line of one catch for 10 yards. Had he held on to a long pass broken up by Marlon Humphrey and a touchdown strike in the fourth quarter, Benjamin’s day would have looked far better. He isn’t a bad flex play if you’re looking to start a Bill.

K Stephen Hauschka

While Buffalo’s outstanding kicker was not very good last week, making a 35-yard field goal and missing on a 52-yard attempt, the improved weather this weekend should help his chances of scoring. Hauschka was 12-of-14 on field goal attempts at home last year, and he made all 17 of the extra points he attempted at New Era Field. Hauschka was one of the league’s better kickers in 2017, and he is certainly worthy of rostering and starting this year