Fantasy Football: 5 Running Backs Who Easily Outperformed Their 2016 Preseason Rankings

Mike Gillislee, Buffalo Bills

While Atlanta clearly had the best running back combination in the NFL in Devonta Freeman and Tevin Coleman, Buffalo provided a surprisingly potent 1-2 backfield punch of their own in LeSean McCoy and Mike Gillislee. They were the only two running back tandems to combine for more than 300 standard-league points and 400 PPR points.

Gillislee emerged as one of the biggest sleepers of 2016 after playing only eight games combined in his first two seasons. He had a preseason ranking of 238 and went undrafted in most leagues.

Even with McCoy as the go-to back and one of the best rushing quarterbacks in Tyrod Taylor, Gillislee still posted impressive numbers for a backup: 577 rushing yards and nine total touchdowns on only 110 touches.

As numberFire's Steve Repsold pointed out, Gillislee had the most efficient rushing season since 2000. Using numberFire's Net Expected Points metric, which factors in down and distance as well as position on the field, he had a 0.30 rushing NEP per play and a 57.43 percent success rate. Those numbers didn't just lead the league; they blew away the league.

The second-best rushing NEP per play -- ironically, by McCoy -- was nearly half the rate at 0.16. The second-best success rate -- by the New York Jets' Bilal Powell (49.62) -- was nearly eight percentage points behind.

Gillislee actually had a higher red-zone carry percentage than McCoy -- 17.8 percent to 16.2 -- which helps explain his touchdown total. The other statistic that explains his efficiency is yards per carry. His 5.71 rate ranked 3rd in the league among running backs with at least 75 carries.

He finished 125th overall in standard-league scoring, including 26th among running backs.