Sports blog information from USA TODAY.
Day 3 observations from #Bills camp including D-line reports:
The Buffalo Bills have started their 2022 training camp journey.
Here were three big observations and takeaways that surfaced from reports during Day 3 of camp:
#Bills 2022 training camp preview: Running back (via @jdiloro):
Buffalo Bills 2022 training camp kicks off on July 24th. With camp just around the corner, Bills Wire will examine the Bills roster position-by-position. We’ll analyze the new additions and departures to each position group, and provide a glimpse into the future for the team.
Next up is the running back unit:
One could guess more than one #Bills RB is there:
Bills running back Devin Singletary is getting after it with some offseason workouts–but he’s not alone.
A video surfaced which included Singletary working out with other running backs from the NFL. The two featured were Trey Sermon of 49ers and Dalvin Cook of the Vikings.
Cook is the older brother of Bills rookie rusher James Cook. Because of that, one could assume that the first-year pro is also in attendance at the workout but not shown in the video.
But in addition, Singletary and Cook had previously commented that they knew each other before becoming teammates. How? They had worked out together.
Check out the latest video with Singletary below:
Devin Singletary, Dalvin Cook and Trey Sermon putting in work 💨
(via @PER4ORM)pic.twitter.com/Zxg5jgv8E5
— B/R Gridiron (@brgridiron) July 16, 2022
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#Bills’ Devin Singletary named team’s ‘most underrated player’:
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With all the movement around the Buffalo Bills this offseason, Football Outsiders (via ESPN) decided to remind us that Devin Singletary is still a valuable asset in the team’s backfield.
The Bills added multiple pieces to help quarterback Josh Allen in 2022. Depth was added behind Dawson Knox at tight end in OJ Howard. Wide receiver Jamison Crowder will help fill Cole Beasley’s shoes in the slot.
But the biggest of all these moves was using a second-round pick at the 2022 NFL draft on running back James Cook.
That’s a round where a prospect is expected to make some contributions as a rookie. That has caused some to be excited about Cook’s abilities, particularly in the passing game.
But Singletary still remains the most-likely option at the top of Buffalo’s backfield heading toward training camp. Not only does he have experience, Singletary turned it on toward the end of last season, cementing himself as the team’s best rusher.
Here’s what Football Outsiders added to the Singletary equation:
Singletary has averaged 211 touches and 5.0 touchdowns the past two seasons and has been a modest producer in typical fantasy football formats. His above-average 4.4 and 4.6 yards per attempt in the past two seasons deserves extra credit behind a bottom-10 run-blocking offensive line with 69% run block win rates. Singletary leads running backs with 200 or more touches with a 23.5% broken tackle rate the past two years, according to Sports Info Solutions charting.
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WATCH: #Bills release Devin Singletary hype video:
The 2022 NFL season saw Devin Singletary stake his claim to the Buffalo Bills backfield.
Singletary emerged as the team’s No. 1 choice out at running back. In 2021, Singletary had career-highs in rushing yards (870), touchdowns (8) and catches (40).
Because of that, even though the Bills used a second-round pick on running back James Cook at the 2022 NFL draft, many still consider Singletary the top rusher in Buffalo.
And just in time to celebrate that, the team dropped a nice Singletary hype video. Check it out below:
Ready to pick up where he left off. 💪 #BillsMafia @MotorSingletary | @GamedayVodka pic.twitter.com/yg1zRKCFU4
— Buffalo Bills (@BuffaloBills) June 30, 2022
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Duke Johnson (&Devin Singletary) is happy to help #Bills rookie James Cook:
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If you’ve looked at 53-man roster projections as of late, things don’t look great for Duke Johnson.
The veteran running back signed with the Buffalo Bills earlier this spring during free agency.
The thing about free agency: It comes before the draft.
There, the Bills selected a running back in the second round, James Cook. That was bad news for Johnson–But that’s not the way he’s trying to look at things as training camp approaches.
Rather, Johnson’s using it as an opportunity to be a good teammate.
“You look at it as competition, but we also look at it – the older guys – as being able to mentor,” Johnson told the Buffalo News. “We get it. We know it’s a numbers game. We all know that, but it doesn’t stop us from helping each other out, because at the end of the day, we want this team to be successful, because this team gave all of us an opportunity to play football and we want to make sure that whoever they do choose is the right guy.”
It’s not just Johnson and Cook vying for playing time in Buffalo’s backfield. There’s Zack Moss and special teams ace Taiwan Jones. At the top of the whole depth chart is Devin Singletary.
Johnson’s status is more in jeopardy than Singletary’s with Cook’s addition. But Singletary could stand to lose snaps because of the rookie.
Like Johnson, Singletary showed a team-first mentality which reflects the way the Bills have tried to built their locker room since Buffalo hired head coach Sean McDermott.
Singletary revealed that he already had worked out with Cook in the past during the offseason. It made putting the team first even easier for him.
“Basically picking up where we left off,” Singletary said on May 31. “It’s all love, picking up where we left off from the offseason and just finding ways to get better now. He’s picking up the offense fast and honestly it’s been fun.”
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PFF will watch #Bills’ backfield at 2022 training camp:
The Buffalo Bills have a talented roster, one that some project as a Super Bowl contender.
Such groupings of players do not leave room for much movement via position battles. Still, Pro Football Focus dug through the weeds and found one to watch during training camp in Buffalo this summer.
The Bills’ backfield could prove to be an intriguing matchup. There are three different candidates there in Devin Singletary, Zack Moss and rookie second-round pick James Cook that all bring different skill sets to the table.
How could it all unfold? PFF gave a preview:
Running back position battles aren’t what they used to be, as most of the NFL now employs some variety of committee approach to a position that used to be staffed by every-down bellcows wherever possible. On one hand, A.J. Dillon and Aaron Jones are in a battle for supremacy in Green Bay‘s backfield, and on the other hand, we should expect to see both featured heavily and the exact way that the dynamic plays out is largely inconsequential.
Things are a little different in Buffalo however, where the team clearly felt that Cook brought something to the table that the teams wasn’t getting from Singletary or Moss. Bills general manager Brandon Beane talked about Cooks’ run-after-the-catch skills, and Dalvin’s younger brother bears more than a passing resemblance to his Pro-Bowl brother. That resemblance gives Cook a chance to be better than his second-round pick status and take command of a greater portion of the available workload than was originally intended.
A prediction of Cook standing out in Buffalo’s running back is a bold one, but it’s not out of the question.
Most assume Singletary will end up as the team’s No. 1 rusher–and for good reason. At the end of last season, Singletary played well. Much better than Moss.
But if we’re making the case for Cook, it’s easy to see. The Bills are a pass-first team. Catching the ball is Cook’s bread-and-butter. If the rookie can pull together the other aspects of his game? It might force the coaching staff’s hand.
The more likely scenario might be the Bills easing Cook into the lineup as the season rolls on. That’s been the way Buffalo has handled their rookies over the past few years, even top selections like Cook.
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5 burning questions ahead of the 2022 #Bills season (via @jdiloro):
The expectations are bubbling over the Buffalo Bills. For the first time in over a quarter of a century, the Bills are the preseason odds-on favorite to win the Super Bowl.
Things will start to heat up as the Bills look forward to training camp. With that, here are five burning questions for the team ahead of their 2022 campaign:
PFF: #Bills have NFL’s 19th best backfield:
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The Buffalo Bills have some things to figure out with their backfield, according to Pro Football Focus.
In their position-by-position breakdowns this offseason, running back rooms for each team were all taken into account, not just starters. In Buffalo, we see a group that has something to prove.
The football analytics outlet ranked the Bills’ backfield as the 19th best in the NFL.
PFF’s analysis:
The Bills have now invested three Day 2 picks into the running back position over the last four offseasons — Devin Singletary in 2019, Zack Moss in 2020 and James Cook in this year’s draft.
Singletary ranks fifth in rushing yards over expected over the last three seasons to go along with a 86.2 PFF rushing grade (11th among running backs with at least 300 carries). He should stay in place as the lead back, but Cook provides the speed and receiving ability that this backfield was missing. He should have an immediate role.
At this stage, the Bills should know what they’re getting from Singletary. He’s entering his fourth season in the NFL and he’s never really gotten an opportunity to be a bell-cow rusher.
Plenty of that has to do with quarterback Josh Allen and his emergence, but under the surface, the Bills have a decision to make with Singletary. Do they extend him as he enters the final year of his contract?
Buffalo might opt to wait that out and see if Cook and Moss can show signs that they might make a better backfield duo.
Cook is unproven as a rookie and Moss did have a sophomore slump–but if Moss returns to his Year 1 form, the Bills might let Singletary test the market.
The 2022 season will be a pivotal one for the Bills backfield.
And hopefully what unfolds scoots them up such a list in the future.
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Which RB gets a far easier schedule for 2022? Who experiences the worst drop in schedule strength?
The schedule strength for running backs is always the most accurate among fantasy positions thanks to their volume of work and the tendency of teams to feature the run and rely more consistently on individual players. That makes this analysis the most reliable.
The average fantasy points allowed by defenses to running backs last year were applied to each offense’s schedule to determine their true schedule strength of last year, and applied the same values to their 2022 schedule. This includes considering both home and away venues separately for each defense.
The resulting fantasy point advantages are compared between years and their difference is their “swing points.” The higher the Swing Points, the better their schedule is compared to last year. This analysis is actually more interesting than standard schedule strength. You know what happened last year with players – do they get an easier or tougher schedule for 2022?
Both the Bears and Dolphins have a Top-5 schedule for running backs, but they had great schedules last year as well, so there’s no boost for their offenses.
Seattle Backfield – This is worth tracking through the offseason because whoever tops the depth chart gets to face an easy schedule, far better than the No. 31 they faced last year. Chris Carson’s neck injury is a major question mark, Rashaad Penny has been an injury waiting to happen aside from a handful of games last year, and they tabbed Kenneth Walker as the second running back drafted back in April. Losing Russell Wilson already has the Seahawks looking to do more with the run and a friendlier schedule should help accommodate that plan – whichever back can take advantage.
Devin Singletary/James Cook (BUF) – The Bills backfield only ranked No. 31 in carries last year, and their schedule (No. 19) was mostly average. They upgraded to the No. 1 running back schedule in total points for 2022 which should encourage more rushing, and the rookie James Cook was the third running back taken in the NFL draft. But so long as Josh Allen is the quarterback of the pass-happy scheme, the backfield won’t likely take full advantage of a schedule gift this year.
D’Andre Swift/Jamaal Williams (DET) – The fantasy community is higher on the oft-dinged Swift and the schedule makes that sentiment even stronger. Rocketing up from the No. 26 spot to the No. 2 will make a difference so long as Swift can stay healthy. The Lions’ offensive talent promises to be at least incrementally better this season and facing a lighter set of opponents will improve them even further.
J.K. Dobbins (BAL) – The Ravens backfield is another unit that is a committee with a lot more questions than answers. Dobbins and Gus Edwards return (probably) from injury. Mike Davis and the rookie Tyler Badie were added. The Ravens’ backfield struggled with injuries last year and ranked in the Bottom-5 for most running back categories. The schedule lightens up significantly but the roles of individually players remain murky.
Antonio Gibson/J.D. McKissic/Brian Robinson (WAS) – There’s a definite bump up in ease of schedule for the Commanders’ backfield, but the division of labor appears to be even greater this season. McKissic returns for the third-down role, Gibson was good last year but not as great as hoped, and they added the bull Robinson who could figure in for short-yardage and goal-line work. Gibson could lose at least minor touches, but at least he’ll have an easier schedule for an advantage.
Aaron Jones/AJ Dillon (GB) – The Packers backfield ranked slightly above average in most fantasy metrics last year but even that may be hard to replicate in a season where they drop from the No. 2 to the No. 25 schedule for running backs. The backfield already split touches between Jones (223) and Dillon (224) last season and now they’ll face tougher defenses. Jones is less likely to be impacted as the primary receiver in the backfield.
Najee Harris (PIT) – The shift to a non-Roethlisberger offense already casts uncertainty on the offense and Harris already was one of the elite backs as a rookie, so he’ll be challenged to repeat his great 2021. Falling from No. 4 to No. 27 in schedule strength will have an impact, but his role as a rusher and how often he’ll be used as a receiver with Mitchell Trubisky under center remains unknown.
Cam Akers (LAR) – Tearing his Achilles erased his 2021 season other than returning very late and doing very little. Now Akers will be a year removed from the same injury that ended most players’ careers and he has to face a decline from the No. 3 schedule of last year to only No. 24. The Rams’ backfield was only average in rushing for 2021 and in the Bottom-3 in all receiving categories for running backs. Akers has an uphill battle to meet the expectations that he spawned last year before his injury.
Josh Jacobs (LV) – After two seasons of mostly RB1-level production, Jacobs’ outlook isn’t as shiny as it once was. He’s due to be a free agent in 2023 and isn’t expected to be a great fit for the new Patriots-style offense that new head coach Josh McDaniels is installing. The backfield is already a bit murky with Kenyan Drake returning from a broken ankle, ex-Patriot Brandon Bolden signing, and drafting Georgia’s Zamir White who some speculate could replace Jacobs this year. The Raiders faced the No. 20 schedule for running backs in 2021 and now are pitted against the No. 32 slate of opponents for this season. It all casts shadows that may never turn bright.
