Devin Singletary fantasy football

Fantasy Football: Top utilization stats to know from Week 10

Recapping the most important fantasy football player utilization data from Week 10 play.

NFL Week 10 action was extremely entertaining as a pure fan of the game, but fantasy footballers had to make do with three of the best offenses in the game being on their bye weeks, which helped depress some of the overall numbers, including utilization data.

Injuries — and the return from them — this time of the year tend to be the most likely way to catapult a player into relevance for gaming, and this week was no different. We also get an update from some split backfields that have been in flux and developing target shares.

Can the Houston Texans sustain two fantasy football RBs?

Will they be able to support both Dameon Pierce and Devin Singletary?

In 2021, the Houston Texans had the worst running attack in the league, rushing for an NFL-low 83.6 yards per game and a woeful 3.4 yards per carry. Although they were only marginally better last year, increasing those numbers to 86.6 yards per game (31st) and 3.7 yards per carry (31st), at least they won’t be starting from scratch again as running back Dameon Pierce proved to be a nice find as a fourth-round selection in the 2022 draft.

Clearly, more help was needed, however, and for that the Texans dipped into the free-agent waters and came away with former Buffalo Bills running back Devin Singletary, who signed a one-year deal in March. Plus, in a lower profile move, RB Mike Boone, most recently of the Denver Broncos, inked a two-year contract. That affords the running back room more depth than it’s had in years.

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The hirings of head coach DeMeco Ryans and offensive coordinator Bobby Slowik, both of whom worked under head coach Kyle Shanahan with the San Francisco 49ers, certainly means a stronger commitment to the run is on the way. With that in mind, here’s an early look at Houston’s backfield contingent.

Fantasy football preview: RB James Cook, Bills

Just how big of a role will we see from the rookie?

While most of the focus with the Buffalo Bills’ potent offense has been on quarterback Josh Allen and the passing game, the front office has invested a trio of Day 2 picks in the backfield over the last four years. Running back Devin Singletary was the first, being selected 74th overall in 2019, followed by Zack Moss (86th in 2020), and most recently James Cook, who was drafted with the 63rd pick back in April.

That type of asset outlay demonstrates that the Bills are committed to featuring a dangerous ground attack to complement Allen’s dual skill set. To date, neither Singletary nor Moss have put together big years since entering the league, though the former is coming off his best season to date, amassing 1,098 total yards and eight touchdowns; Moss, meanwhile, has appeared in 26 of a possible 33 games in his two years, and he finished 2021 with 542 total yards and five scores.

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Against that backdrop it’s easy to see why people are excited about Cook — it also doesn’t hurt that his older brother, Minnesota Vikings running back Dalvin Cook, is among the best the league has to offer. The Georgia product was viewed as one of the top backs in this year’s class, and his skills as a receiver out of the backfield were a big reason why. He’s on the smaller side, though, and doesn’t appear suited to the heavy usage his brother has seen in Minnesota.

At this point, it looks like Singletary will be the lead back, getting most of his work on early downs. That leaves Moss and Cook to battle it out for the No. 2/receiving role. While Moss may hold that spot early on, it seems likely that Cook will overtake him at some point; after all, the lack of development from Moss is part of the reason the Bills felt compelled to select another back early on.

There is one wild card: Duke Johnson. The veteran has over 300 career receptions and played very effectively in a five-game stint with the Miami Dolphins last year, totaling 371 yards and three TDs. If the coaching staff feels Cook (or Moss) isn’t ready, they could plug Johnson into that slot, at least initially. Speaking of the slot, expect to see Cook flexed into that role at times to utilize his athleticism for mismatches, but such a role is hardly reliable.

Fantasy football outlook

Without question, Cook is the shiny object in Buffalo’s backfield. Singletary has never broken out the way fantasy owners hoped he would, which often leads to draft-day backlash, and Moss has done little to endear himself in his two years with the club.

Still, Singletary deserves to be the first of the Bills RBs drafted, as a midrange RB3, while Cook is better suited as your fourth back with tangible upside, particularly in PPR. You can stay clear of Moss.

Fantasy football team previews: AFC East

Take a fantasy football spin around the AFC East.

The 2022 fantasy football draft season is starting to heat up now that we’ve gone through the height of free agency and all of the chosen rookies have been assigned to their professional home cities.

The landscape has changed a great deal for many franchises after a whirlwind offseason, and our divisional preview series will help you stay on top of all of the changes to date.

AFC divisional previews

East | North | South | West

NFC divisional previews

East | North | South | West

Fantasy Football Market Report: Week 9

Which players are on the rise and who’s taking a midseason tumble?

In many sports, the arrival of the trade deadline is something that is looked forward to as the also-rans in any given season are given the opportunity to build for the future by unloading talented veterans to a contending team.

It typically isn’t that way in the NFL, where there are always rumors of big names trading places, but it rarely happens. The trade deadline is 4 p.m. EDT Tuesday, Nov. 2, and there will be a flurry of rumors of players moving to new teams, but too often the rumors don’t become reality.

For fantasy owners, this can be an important time if you have any of the players on the trade block. Owners of Zach Ertz are elated that he finally got out of Philly after months of contention and goes to Arizona – a high-octane offense in need of a playmaking tight end.

Some players have been disappointments, mired on fantasy benches or a “silk hat on a pig” type (see Brandin Cooks). The deadline will come and go as it always does, but will this year be the year where things are different and there are a flurry of moves? Don’t hold your breath.

Here is the Week 9 Fantasy Football Market Report:

Fantasy Football Risers

Michael Carter, RB, New York Jets

It’s difficult to overly excited about anyone from the Jets, but Carter has started making a case for himself to be considered. He is the Jets’ leading rusher and has more than twice as many carries as anyone on the team. He has double-digit attempts in each of the last four games and has scored three touchdowns in that span. He is also the team’s leading receiver with 26 receptions – 17 of those (and 162 of his 226 receiving yards) coming in the last two games. He has emerged as a strong daily fantasy player and is making it more difficult to keep out of league lineups.

Michael Pittman Jr., WR, Indianapolis Colts

It has taken a while for Pittman and Carson Wentz to get on the same page, but Indy started winning when Pittman became the primary focus of the passing offense. In his last four games, Pittman has scored four touchdowns and posted yardage of 86, 89 and 105. He has 594 receiving yards and nobody else on the team has more than 265. He has quietly asserted himself as the go-to receiver in this offense and is still being viewed as a fantasy bargain who has to prove it. That won’t last much longer. He’s already proved it.

Chuba Hubbard, RB, Carolina Panthers

From the day Christian McCaffrey went down in Week 3, the majority of the rushing workload has fallen on Hubbard. In his last four games, he has had a pair of games with 24 rushing attempts (gaining 101 and 82 yards, respectively) and has scored two touchdowns in the last three games. With McCaffrey expected to return, Hubbard’s value may plummet, but he has earned the opportunity to be more than just a McCaffrey handcuff. If CMC goes down again (he missed time due to three injuries last year), you could have a fantasy starter on your hands.

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Dallas Goedert, TE, Philadelphia Eagles

This may be a little more projecting that anything based on a breakout performance, but what has always held Goedert down was sharing time with Zach Ertz. When Ertz was injured in the past is when Goedert posted his most impressive numbers. In the five games he played prior to the Ertz trade, he was averaging three catches and 43 yards. In the two games since the trade, he has nine catches for 142 yards, including his biggest yardage games of the season (70 and 72 yards). While he isn’t a lock to be a fantasy stud suddenly, his trajectory is pointing strongly up with his primary competition out of the picture.

D’Ernest Johnson, RB, Cleveland Browns

Browns fans didn’t know what to make of their run game when both Nick Chubb and Kareem Hunt were out in Week 7 against Denver. The only person who seemed unfazed was head coach Kevin Stefanski, who said Johnson could get the job done. All he did in his first start was rush 22 times for 146 yards and a touchdown. Chubb came back last week and Johnson’s production took a dip. He rushed just four times for 22 yards in Cleveland’s loss to Pittsburgh, but he scored another touchdown. With Hunt expected to be out four to six weeks, Johnson is going to have the opportunity to fill his role in the offense, which could mean double-digit carries and chances in the screen game. He’s a reach, but one that could be dividends for a team in need if he does fill Hunt’s role in the offense.

Fantasy Football Fallers

Jared Goff, QB, Detroit Lions

Early in the season, it looked as though the Matthew Stafford might not be as lopsided as it appeared. In his first two games (against San Francisco and Green Bay), Goff threw for 584 yards and five touchdowns. It’s been all downhill in the six games since. He has thrown for less than 225 yards (with his team behind in most if not all of them for considerable stretches of time) four times and has just three TD passes in those six games – including just one in his last four games. He brings nothing as a rusher and has brought next to nothing as a passer. The Lions are in line for the No. 1 overall pick as the lone winless team in the league and that player will likely be Goff’s replacement.

Jonnu Smith, TE, New England Patriots

The Patriots made a big splash in free agency by signing the two hottest tight ends – Smith and Hunter Henry. Both got off to brutal starts, but Henry has turned his fantasy season around, scoring four touchdowns in his last five games. The same can’t be said for Smith. Through eight games, he is averaging less than 24 receiving yards a game and has just one touchdown catch. For a guy who blew up for the Titans last year just in time to make millions, he has been unqualified bust for the Patriots and has rendered himself almost unplayable.

Buffalo Bills running backs

This one has been frustrating for owners of both Devin Singletary and Zack Moss. Mos has scattered four touchdowns in the first half of the season, but is averaging just 3.7 yards a carries with his worst two weekly averages coming in the last two weeks against teams that have struggled to stop the run (Tennessee and Miami). Singletary is averaging 5.1 yards a carry but hasn’t had more rushes than Moss since Week 2 and has a total of 18 carries in the last three games. With neither being a threat as receivers, it has become impossible to play either of them and expect production.

Keenan Allen, WR, Los Angeles Chargers

Allen is one of the rare players who historically has himself on both the Risers and Fallers list in the same season. The problem with Allen is consistency from a fantasy perspective. In seven games, he has scored just two touchdowns (one on Sunday), but after hitting 100 yards in each of his first two games, he hasn’t topped 77 yards in the five games since and has three games with 50 or fewer receiving yards in three of those. It’s impossible to recommend benching Allen, because he came to fantasy rosters to start every week and you get the feeling he’s going to have another one of his three- or four-game streaks where he plays lights out and scores a handful of touchdowns. It’s what Allen does.

Eric Ebron, TE, Pittsburgh Steelers

The best thing that happened to fantasy owners with Ebron is that he was inactive Sunday with a hamstring injury and couldn’t be played. That’s the good news. The bad news is that a player who has posted some monster weeks over the years is a complete afterthought in this offense. Fellow Steelers tight end Pat Freiermuth had as many receptions (seven) in Pittsburgh’s Week 7 game with Seattle than Ebron has had in the six games he has played. The numbers are staggeringly bad – seven catches for 47 yards and no touchdowns. The Steelers may try to move him at the trade deadline, but with those numbers who wants him?

Is it time for Zack Moss to emerge in Buffalo?

Moss stands out among a crowded backfield.

With training camps and preseason games officially in the rearview mirror, it’s time to take a look at crowded depth chart positions and hopefully provide a little clarity as to what the 2021 season will look like in fantasy football.

A season ago, the Buffalo Bills ended New England’s stranglehold on the AFC East and then advanced to the AFC Championship Game before falling to Kansas City. While the rise of QB Josh Allen took center stage, Buffalo has also assembled a talented backfield that features a pair of Day 2 picks from the 2019 and 2020 drafts, respectively. Now the question becomes how that workload will be divvied up this season.

It’s not too late to sign up for The Huddle and dominate!

Of course, it’s worth pointing out that Allen was among the more prolific runners at the position, ranking fourth among QBs in carries (102) and eighth in yards (421). If that level of activity continues it will have the same trickle-down effect that Lamar Jackson has on the Baltimore running game, albeit on a smaller scale. Conversely, if Allen dials that aspect of his game back it could increase the Bills’ RBs workloads.

Devin Singletary fantasy football outlook

Selected 74th overall in 2019, Singletary has led the Bills in rushing in each of his first two seasons. There wasn’t much growth in Year 2, however, as his rookie year totals of 151 carries and 775 yards (5.1 YPC) were marginally better than the 156-687 (4.4 YPC) mark from 2020. The big plays also dried up with just three carries of 20-plus yards last season compared to seven in his debut campaign.

Singletary showed some strides as a receiver, increasing his receiving output from 29-194 as a rookie to 38-269, and he was more careful with the football (he reduced his fumbles from four to one).

Some of the shine seems to be off Singletary, though, as he is undersized and lacks big-time speed — he has scored just six times in 374 combined touches. Despite being the nominal starter, Singletary is best suited as an RB4.

Zack Moss fantasy football outlook

Moss followed Singletary as another third-round selection, coming off the board with the 86th pick last year. His final numbers weren’t great (112-481-4), but the then-rookie started seeing more action late in the year. In fact, over the team’s final three meaningful games, Moss logged 38 carries to Singletary’s 25.

Moss is clearly the more powerful of the two backs, which should allow him to be a bigger factor in the red zone, regardless of how many carries between the 20s are allocated in a given week.

Although he was used sparingly as a receiver last season (14-95-1), Moss’ hands and blitz pickup were considered above-average coming out of Utah.

It certainly feels like there’s more upside with Moss, who improved as his rookie year went along and will now have the benefit of a full offseason program with the team heading into his second season.

Moss may currently sit behind Singletary on the depth chart, but Moss’ upside is higher. This is going to be a true committee, and really may be closer to a hot-hand scenario. Allen, not Singletary, should be his biggest enemy for limiting touchdown opportunities.

Moss can be drafted to fill an RB3/flex role and may be leaned on for more if the Bills were to lose star WR Stefon Diggs for extended time.

Matt Breida fantasy football outlook

After spending his first three seasons with the San Francisco 49ers, Breida was traded to Miami before last year’s draft. It didn’t pan out. In a running back room that included both unproven (Myles Gaskin, Salvon Ahmed) and over-the-hill (Jordan Howard) options, Breida could never carve out on a meaningful role with the Dolphins.

A hamstring injury and a trip to the COVID list rounded out an inauspicious stint in south Florida with Breida setting career lows in carries (59), yards (254) and TDs (0).

Buffalo signed him in free agency in the hope they’ll see the 49ers version of Breida, who averaged 634 yards on 127 carries (5.0 YPC) and 2 TDs per year during his three seasons with the club.

He’ll operate behind Singletary and Moss in the backfield, but offensive coordinator Brian Daboll had Breida line up wide in the preseason, which could open some action on jet sweeps or quick passes to get him the ball in space. It’s unlikely to be enough to generate meaningful fantasy value, but Breida would be worth a look if either Moss or Singletary were to miss time.

Fantasy Football Market Report: Week 7

Checking in on the fantasy football options whose value is rising and falling.

One of the things I believe that has made me consistently successful in fantasy football leagues is that I find a way to avoid teams altogether. This year as I prepared for the one fantasy football draft and one fantasy football auction that mean most to me, my list of teams I wanted nothing to do with under any circumstance was limited to the New York Jets, Washington Football Team and Jacksonville Jaguars. I entered the fray knowing there was no way I was going to end up with anyone on any of those teams. I would take Mecole Hardman before I took Terry McLaurin, D.J. Chark or Jamison Crowder…

That’s me.

Now I’m wondering if I want anyone from the NFC East – and that includes Dallas Cowboys RB Zeke Elliott. Saquon and Dak are gone. The Eagles can’t keep anyone but Carson Wentz healthy (who would have figured that?). As least Dak could post giant fantasy football numbers because his defense stunk. Saquon was the only Giant I wanted and I still want nobody from WFT — which is more in line with WTF.

Through six weeks of the season, the teams of the NFC East are a dumpster fire. They have a combined record of 5-18-1. If you take the games in which they didn’t play each other and one team likely had to win, their record is 2-15-1 outside the division.

This is bad on a scale rarely seen.

The good news? There is none.

The bad news? If things hold up in the NFL and the fantasy football playoffs are held in Weeks 14-16, of the 12 games those four teams will play, only one of them will be against a division opponent (when Dallas is scheduled to play Philly in Week 16). At least if they were playing each other, you could get excited about the inept possibilities.

In the leagues that matter to me, I am fortunately underrepresented by teams from the NFC East. More of you should join me.

Here is the Week 7 Fantasy Market Report:

Fantasy Football Risers

Ronald Jones, RB, Tampa Bay Buccaneers

For most of his short career, Jones has been a player with a lot of talent who never put it all together. In his first two seasons, he never rushed for more than 80 yards in a game. In his last three, he has topped 100 yards in each rushing 60 times for 330 yards and two touchdowns. It’s taken him two-and-half years to live up to being a big deal in Tampa, but he’s finally done it.

Deshaun Watson, QB, Houston Texans

His stock took a dive (so did his team) to start the year, but people forget he played the Chiefs, Ravens and Steelers in those game – and two were on the road. Once he got past that hurdle, over the last three games, he has topped 300 yards in each – throwing for 994 yards and nine touchdowns. Those are the kind of numbers he was drafted for and the reason he is almost unbenchable.

Mike Davis, RB, Carolina Panthers

When Christian McCaffrey went down, seeing as he was the No. 1 overall pick in most leagues, it was a death blow. But, those who handcuffed McCaffrey with Davis have been keeping their heads above water. In the four games McCaffrey has been out, Davis has two games with 84 or more rushing yards and has scored a touchdown in each game. His role may greatly diminish when McCaffrey returns, but he has been a solid RB2 in any format.

Adam Thielen, WR, Minnesota Vikings

Thielen was drafted to be a borderline WR1 – a guy barely in or barely out of the top 10 on draft day. But, while Justin Jefferson has been stealing the headlines of late, Thielen has seven touchdowns in six games and only has one game in which he didn’t score. He is a machine and the guy Kirk Cousins looks to when he needs a big catch. Minnesota may stink and his quarterback is a bum, but Thielen just keeps on rolling.

Darrell Henderson, RB, Los Angeles Rams

Henderson has become one of the more interesting backs this season as the guy grabbing the job to replace Todd Gurley. In the opener, he had just three carries for six yards. But, in the five games since, he has rushed for 80 or more yards three times and has scored four touchdowns. His disparity just keeps growing, even with Malcolm Brown and rookie Cam Akers available.

Fantasy Football Fallers

Lamar Jackson, QB, Baltimore Ravens

What made Jackson the MVP last year was that he was an incredible rushing threat, but also had three or more TD passes in seven of 15 games. This season, the only game he had three passing TDs was Week 1. He’s still someone I wish I had in every league. He’ll never be benched, but he hasn’t been light’s out, which is what everyone who took him as the first or second fantasy QB expected. I never want to go up against him, but he has yet to have that one-man gang game that blows an opponent out of the water.

Jarvis Landry, WR, Cleveland Browns

The knock on Landry is that his value is much higher in PPR leagues because he has never been known as a touchdown threat. But, he’s been a bust in any format. He doesn’t have more than five receptions in any game, has just two games with more than 50 receiving yards (61 and 88) and his next touchdown will be his first touchdown. He’s pushed himself out of lineups and firmly in trade talks to move him as a name, not for his production.

Devin Singletary, RB, Buffalo Bills

He had the chance to be the go-to guy in the run game, especially when injuries made him about the only option. But, through six games, he has just one touchdown, brings little as a receiver in the Bills offense and, over the last three games, has rushed 39 times for just 113 yards. He is becoming a harder sell all the time to justify starting every week.

Zach Ertz, TE, Philadelphia Eagles

This a real head-scratcher. He’s expected to miss three or so weeks, but that is actually a good thing for Ertz owners. At a time when some tight ends can dominate weeks, Ertz was considered one of them, but hasn’t been that. Not even close. In six games, he has more than 42 yards receiving just once, less than 20 in half of them and has just one catch of more than 12 yards. At least he doesn’t hurt an owner now because his bad games don’t count against them.

Julian Edelman, WR, New England Patriots

You weren’t expecting a ton of touchdowns from Edelman, but you were expecting receptions and yards. In five games, he has just 20 catches for 302 yards – with eight receptions and 179 yards coming in one game. He proved against Seattle in Week 2 that he still has dominance in him, but, over the last three games, he has caught just seven passes for 66 yards. He’s borderline dump-worthy for those with deep rosters.