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Le'Veon Bell will make his long-awaited return to the NFL on Sunday when the New York Jets take on the Buffalo Bills in their season opener.
Of course, Bell sat out all of 2018 due to a contract dispute with the Pittsburgh Steelers before signing with the Jets in free agency, so, naturally, there is some trepidation about Bell heading into 2019.
But we know that when he is right, Bell is one of the best running backs this league has to offer.
So, what is the Fantasy Football outlook for Bell heading into Week 1?
Well, you should treat Bell as if he didn't miss any time last year at all.
It's not like Bell is coming off of a major injury, and it's not like he is an old man coming out of retirement, either. Bell is perfectly healthy and is just 27 years old, so I see no reason why he shouldn't be a huge factor for New York in Week 1 and beyond.
Here is something to keep in mind: the Bills ranked No. 1 in the NFL in passing defense in 2018, but when it came to defending the run, they were nothing more than ordinary, as they finished just 16th.
That means you can probably expect a heavy dose of Bell on Sunday afternoon.
Remember: this dude is an absolute workhorse who led the league in carries the last time we saw him in 2017, so he will get his touches.
Will the Jets ride him as much as the Steelers did? Maybe, maybe not, but this opening game against Buffalo seems like as good of a time as any to hand the ball to Bell and let him loose.
In 2017, Bell rushed for 1,291 yards and nine touchdowns while also hauling in 85 receptions for 655 yards and a couple of scores, so we know that Bell can absolutely fill up the stat sheet.
Albeit, he was running behind a very strong offensive line in Pittsburgh, and New York's offensive line, while improved, definitely isn't the best, so that may have an effect on his efficiency, but Adam Gase seems prepared to utilize Bell in ways he has never been used before, and the halfback appears to be excited about it, as he has spent much of the offseason raving about his new head coach.
It's also important to note that while Sam Darnold may have a bright future ahead of him, he is still a very young and raw quarterback, so there doesn't seem to be any doubt that Bell will be the focal point of the Jets' offense this season.
And against a very strong Bills pass defense, it seems somewhat unlikely that Gase will put the game in Darnold's hands. Not in Year 2.
If anything, Gase might ask Darnold to complete a lot of short passes, of which some will definitely be designed for Bell, who is one of the best pass-catching backs in the NFL.
So, if you have Bell on your Fantasy team, you can expect him to get some heavy usage this Sunday.
