Now that Pro Football Focus has released their initial stat projections for the upcoming 2015, season, we are examining them position group by position group.
On Tuesday, we had a look at the numbers they projected for quarterback Ben Roethlisberger and today we’ll discuss the numbers they expect out of running backs Le’Veon Bell and DeAngelo Williams in 2015.
| Name | Gms | Rush | R.Yds | R.TDs | Targs | Recs | Rc.Yds | Rc.TDs |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Le’Veon Bell | 12 | 227 | 974 | 5 | 80 | 62 | 501 | 3 |
| DeAngelo Williams | 15 | 91 | 417 | 1 | 14 | 11 | 93 | 0 |
PFF has Bell only playing in 12 games in 2015 so they must currently believe that he’ll miss one additional game in addition to the three he is already scheduled to miss due to suspension.
After rushing for 1,361 yards and 8 touchdowns on 290 carries in 2014, PFF projects Bell to come up just short of 1,000 yards in 2015 while only scoring 5 touchdowns on the ground. They do, however, have Bell down for 62 catches for 501 yards and another 3 touchdowns.
If you were to take their projections and extrapolate them out over 16 games, Bell’s rushing numbers would be 303 carries for 1,299 yards and 7 touchdowns. He would also have 83 catches for 668 yards and another 4 touchdowns.
As far as Williams goes, PFF expects him to have a healthy 4.58 yards per carry average and just over 400 yards rushing on just over 90 carries. They’re not expecting too many receptions for Williams, however, as they only have him down for 11 in total.
