There’s a lot of excitement in Orchard Park for the Bills in 2020. There’s youth and talent all over the team’s roster.
Among the position groups that line up perfectly with this feeling is the team’s backfield.
In his rookie season, Buffalo saw running back Devin Singletary slowly turn up the heat on opposing defenses with his quick and slick running style. Now rookie Zack Moss joins him. That could be a promising one-two punch.
But could it be Singletary providing a little bit more value? ESPN reflected that recently in one of their 2020 fantasy football breakdowns. Singletary was tabbed as a potential “breakout player” next season in the NFL. Here’s why fantasy football analyst Tristan Cockcroft thinks so:
Devin Singletary, RB, Buffalo Bills: Things were looking up for Singletary during the second half of an otherwise forgettable 2019, as he averaged 16.4 carries per game and 4.6 yards per carry with 30 total targets in his final eight regular-season contests, then managed 134 yards from scrimmage in the wild-card round. With Frank Gore gone, Singletary should see easily at least that much usage and arguably more; and with Allen unlikely to repeat his 2019 rushing success, the Bills should really shift more of their rushing focus to the second-year back. Zack Moss does loom as a potential goal-line vulture, but Singletary should put forth high-end RB2 value for an RB3’s price.
Singletary certainly could be a breakout and sleeper player in terms of fantasy football. He could just be one overall in the NFL, too. Usually it’s the sexy stats and numbers that stand out for all players. Singletary doesn’t have them, but observers of the Bills saw it. He passed the eye test as a rookie.
Down the stretch in 2019, Singletary simply looked better starting with health. Early in that season, the vet in Gore did get plenty of carries over Singletary, but the then-rookie also missed time due to a hamstring injury as well. It looked as if Singletary quickly put that behind him, though.
In total, Singletary rushed for 775 yards in 12 games. In 16 games, the sexy stat probably stands out. That stat for running backs is essentially a fourth digit on rushing yards, meaning more than 1,000. If healthy, even in a split backfield, Singletary showed he has potential to get there next season.
And in terms of “what have you done for me lately?” Singletary averaged 4.5 yards per carry in Buffalo’s playoff loss to the Texans in January, and had a team-high six catches and 76 receiving yards.
Not crazy to see a potential breakout in the making here.
Devin Singletary took just 4 of the #Bills 15 running back carries in Week 1, but he added 5 catches and impressed me on two of his moderate gains. This first one showed off a dramatic cut to hit the hole to the outside on a designed inside run. pic.twitter.com/zdUXuK3xTl
— Scott Spratt (@Scott_Spratt) September 10, 2019
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