Buffalo Bills fantasy football preview, Week three: Chris Ivory could be a flex sleeper

If you’re a fantasy football player who is still looking to play Buffalo Bills players in your lineup, allow me to congratulate you on your extreme fandom. The Bills aren’t exactly a hotbed for fantasy studs right now, but there are some players on the roster who could sneak up and have big weeks under the right circumstances.

In this week’s fantasy football preview, we’ll see some of the usual suspects, but there might be one player who could surprise if given the opportunity.

RB Chris Ivory

The other veteran in Buffalo’s backfield seems to have slipped to third on the depth chart behind starter LeSean McCoy and return man Marcus Murphy. Why, then, would you bother considering him for your fantasy lineup? Well, McCoy is dealing with cracked rib cartilage, and while it looks like he’s going to attempt to play on Sunday, he has not been very effective this year when fully healthy. Offensive coordinator Brian Daboll may be forced into using more of a backfield-by-committee approach than he has so far this year, and Ivory is both a capable receiver and a load around the goal line. He caught a pass and turned it into a 30-yard gain last weekend, and he also scored a touchdown on one of his two carries (on the other, he gained 6 yards). If the Bills are going to keep the offense on the field, they need to find some success in the running game, thereby keeping rookie quarterback Josh Allen out of third-and-long. Ivory isn’t flashy, but he could be in line for an increased workload Sunday. I think he will lead the Bills’ backfield in scoring for the second consecutive week.

QB Josh Allen

If you really want to roll the dice against a stout Minnesota Vikings defense, you could roll with the Bills’ leading fantasy-point scorer through the first two weeks of 2018. While this play is reserved only for the desperate and those who play in two-QB leagues, Allen does have the potential to rack up some points in garbage time if the game is out of hand. Of course, if the game stays close, he’ll probably be having a good day, as well. He also might hit on a few big bombs and quickly accumulate yardage that way. He managed 15 points last week, and a similar outing isn’t out of the question this week.

K Stephen Hauschka

With an offense that hasn’t done much, and the prospect of playing a tough Vikings defense, the kicker is a solid play. Hauschka scored 10 points last weekend after a poor showing against the Baltimore Ravens. He could be in line for another solid day this weekend.