29-year old Fred Jackson and first round pick C.J. Spiller will likely give the Bills a really good running game in 2010. Spiller has the speed to take the ball the distance on any carry or catch. He is also a good return man but I don’t think the Bills should use him in that role. Fred Jackson bumped Marshawn Lynch from his starting job last season. He played in 16 games (11 starts) for the Bills last season and he carried the ball 237 times for 1,062 yards (4.5 ypc) with 2 TD runs. Jackson also caught 46 passes for 371 yards (8.1 avg) with 2 TD grabs. Jackson also helped out on special teams last season for the Bills returning 6 punts for 69 yards (11.5 avg) and 41 kickoffs for 1,014 yards (24.7 avg). Jackson has now played in 40 games (15 starts) in his three years with the Bills and he has carried the ball 425 times for 1,933 yards (4.5 ypc) with 2 TD runs. He has also caught 105 passes for 878 yards (8.1 avg) with 2 TD grabs in his young career. Jackson has returned 13 punts for 185 yards (14.2 avg) and 56 kickoffs for 1,241 yards (22.2 avg) in his career. I look for Jackson to do most of the heavy lifting between the tackles with Spiller getting a lot of sweeps to try to exploit defenses with his speed.
24-year old Marshawn Lynch has been rumored to be on his way out of town via trade but he’s still on the team as of right now. Lynch played in 13 games (6 starts) for the Bills last year and he carried the ball 120 times for 450 yards (3.8 ypc) with 2 TD runs. He also caught 28 passes for 179 yards (6.4 avg) last season. He looks like he’ll be third in line for the ball this season which won’t make him too happy. It will be interesting to see if he decides to mope or play harder. Lynch has now played in 41 games (34 starts) in his three years with the Bills in which he has carried the ball 650 times for 2,601 yards (4.0 ypc) with 17 TD carries. Lynch also has caught 93 passes for 663 yards (7.1 avg) with 1 TD grab with the Bills.
24-year old Chad Simpson was a late free agent signing for the Bills. He played in 14 games (0 starts) for the Colts last season and he carried the ball 15 times for 102 yards (6.8 ypc) with 2 TD runs. He also caught 3 passes for 1 whole yard (0.3 avg) last year. Simpson has now played in 25 games (0 starts) in his two years in the NFL and he has carried the ball 30 times for 147 yards (4.9 ypc) with 3 TD runs. Simpson also has caught 6 passes for 31 yards (5.2 avg) in his NFL career. The reason the Bills probably signed Simpson is so that they won’t be tempted to use Fred Jackson or C.J. Spiller on kickoff returns. Simpson returned 38 kickoffs for 898 yards (23.6 avg) with a TD last year and he has returned 53 kickoffs in his NFL career for 1,242 yards (23.4 avg) with 1 TD return.
PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE BILLS RBs in 2010: A-
