[jwplayer uNg4wQUX]
Devin Singletary enters this season at the top of the depth chart for Buffalo Bills running backs. The second-year player out of FAU earned more snaps as his rookie season progressed, ultimately leading the team in rushing with 775 yards on the ground in 12 games played.
On the field for the Bills, we’re all curious to see what that translates to in his second season in the pros. But what about fantasy football wise?
Singletary projects to be a strong flex play in fantasy football this year. He is coming off draft boards somewhere in the range of RB22-RB30 for backfield players, as highlighted in averages by Yahoo! Sports and ESPN.
Buffalo has moved on from veteran Frank Gore as the complement in the backfield. That duty falls to third-round pick Zack Moss. The Utah product projects to be the downhill, power back for Buffalo this season. The question that many will consider with this due: How will the Bills divvy up touches between the duo? Pro Football Focus gives us a glimpse into how the Bills could divide the backfield duties this fall.
PFF highlights, “Singletary emerged as a reliable three-down back as a rookie and played at least 65% of the offense’s snaps in every game in which he wasn’t either injured or just returning from a layoff.” Singletary was reliable and healthy as a rookie. The three-down back idea is important, as Singletary is viewed as a player who can get the ball in all situations.
Last year, he carried the ball 151 times, as compared to Gore’s 166. However, the balance shifted toward the midpoint of the season. Singletary was ranked 18th among running backs in PPR leagues from Weeks 7-16, per PFF.
Among backfield carries, Singletary is expected to see an uptick in his workload. The PFF analyst projects a 60-40 split in snap rate between Singletary and Moss, with Singletary garnering the larger workload.
There is an X-factor in this whole rushing discussion, and it’s quarterback Josh Allen. Last year, Buffalo had three players carry the ball over 100 times: Gore (166), Singletary (151), and Allen (109). Allen also led the team in rushing touchdowns, adding nine to his career ledger last year. Allen was labeled as a “vulture” for the rushing attack because of the work he does himself.
In the end, Allen limits the value of both Singletary and Moss. The outlet highlights that both running backs will see about “10-15 opportunities per game that don’t figure to be of the fantasy-friendly variety.”
Even if Singletary is limited with respect to touches, his ability to break off a massive run should make fantasy owners interested in selecting him as an RB2 for 12-team leagues and a Flex for 10-team leagues. Moss, for his part, could steal carries late in the game as he fits the need for a downhill, grind-it-out runner to seal games for Buffalo. Moss is a nice late-round addition to the bench of your roster.
No matter what, both players are in line to get a decent amount of touches to make something happen for your fantasy team.
My favorite Devin Singletary run of the day:
*insert Chris Berman WHOOP*
s/o to @DDawkins66 for the pancake 🥞#GoBills pic.twitter.com/H0YtnMuDUP
— Dan Fetes (@danfetes) November 4, 2019
[lawrence-related id=69031,69012,69008,69003]