Bills need to match New England offer on Mike Gillislee

Mike Gillislee was one of the breakout performers of the 2016 NFL season and was the second leading rusher for the Bills. A restricted free agent, Gillislee signed an offer sheet from the Patriots this week. With question marks on the depth chart following him, along with other needs that need to be addressed in the upcoming draft, it’s imperative that the Bills match New England’s offer.

• Gillislee earned an overall PFF grade of 76.4, which ranked 14th among qualified RBs in the 2016 season.
• He averaged 3.34 yards after contact, the third-best mark among RBs last season.
• His 43.3 breakaway percentage (percentage of yards which came from runs of 15-plus yards) ranked third among qualified RBs in 2016. He had 10 runs of 15 or more yards.
• He ranked eighth among RBs with an elusive rating (how hard the runner is to bring down independent of blocking, taking into account forced missed tackles and yards after contact) of 57.6 last season.

Fantasy Slant: Should the Bills not match New England's offer, second-year RB Jonathan Williams becomes the next man up to backup LeSean McCoy. While traditional handcuffing isn't the viable strategy it once was in fantasy football, Williams would gain a lot of appeal as McCoy's handcuff. Karlos Williams was an RB1 option during three of the four games McCoy missed in 2015, and Gillislee posted the ninth most fantasy points among running backs when McCoy sat out Week 8 last year.