Nobody on the Buffalo Bills offense jumped off the page in Week 1 against the Pittsburgh Steelers. Still, Pro Football Focus had some fantasy football advice to hand out this week and one Bills player is involved.
Naming wavier wire targets to add ahead of Week 2, Buffalo wide receiver Emmanuel Sanders was mentioned. There was a simple reason why he was included.
Here’s how PFF explains it:
The veteran receiver has been one of the most reliable players over the past decade. He’s consistently gained at least 700 yards on 80 or more targets per season. He put together an encouraging first game with the Bills despite the team’s offensive struggles.
The former Saint tied Stefon Diggs for the most offensive snaps among the skill players. There was some worry that his snap share wouldn’t be as high as previous seasons because of Gabriel Davis, but the second-year receiver was the clear WR4 on the depth chart.
Sanders caught four of seven passes thrown his way for 52 yards in Week 1. Two of the targets were uncatchable, but quarterback Josh Allen wasn’t having his best game. In the future, Sanders should see a higher percentage of catchable targets. He was targeted on two additional plays, but both were removed from the stat sheet due to offensive linemen holding.
The 34-year-old receiver can see close to double-digit targets in most weeks, allowing him to be a solid flex option.
After one game, it does appear the Sanders is in the Bills’ plans on offense. However, there are some important things to note… specifically on Davis.
While he did factor into the game early with a touchdown in Week 1, there could’ve been a reason why his snaps were low and Sanders’ stayed as high as Diggs’ number. Davis was injured.
He’s still dealing with that, as it turns out it’s an ankle injury. Davis has been limited in practice all week, but keeping things on topic, that could make Sanders a profitable pickup in fantasy football.
Bare minimum, Sanders will be that in the short term… and potentially the longer haul as well.
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