Posted by Christopher Harris
The Bills made a surprise roster move Saturday afternoon, releasing
Dominic Rhodes in order to get down to the 53-player limit. Rhodes was the No. 65 rusher in our latest ranks; while he
was going undrafted in the average 10-player fantasy league this summer, he was just the second-highest-rated rusher who wasn't getting picked (behind only
Kevin Faulk).
It's possible Rhodes will catch on somewhere else this weekend or during the week before Week 1, but it seems highly unlikely he'd land in a situation that had the potential for him that Buffalo did. With Marshawn Lynch suspended for the season's first three games, Rhodes was battling Fred Jackson for September playing time. Rhodes isn't likely to get that kind of an opportunity on a new team, and thus shouldn't be considered in fantasy leagues right now.
As for the Buffalo backfield, Jackson has a stranglehold on the Bills' job for the first three weeks, when Buffalo faces New England, Tampa Bay and New Orleans. I'm not sold on any of those defenses as elite run-stoppers, and in deeper leagues, Jackson looks like at least a flex option, if not a No. 2 fantasy rusher. His backup for those few games will be Xavier Omon, a Division II sixth-round draft pick in 2008. Omon isn't someone who needs to be owned in leagues right now either, but the fact that the Bills feel comfortable with him playing some during this first month says something about him. His might be a name worth remembering.
Of course, all this will probably become relatively moot once Lynch returns from his suspension. He ran with the first team throughout the preseason, and figures to be the lead dog on the ground beginning Week 4 against Miami.
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