Bills offseason position spotlight: Running back
All things considered, the Bills making it to the AFC Championship game was remarkable considering the lack of a running game.
That they were the second-highest scoring team in the NFL was even more amazing because they were totally imbalanced and their best runner was also their best thrower, quarterback Josh Allen.
In the end, the Bills ranked 19th in the league with an average of 4.2 yards per carry.
So in this latest installment examining the offseason strength of each Bills' position group, we focus on the running backs and what can reasonably be expected of the Bills before they play their next game.
Devin Singletary
A third-round draft pick in 2019, Singletary fell out of favor with the coaching staff in 2020 and was eventually replaced as their top back by rookie Zack Moss.
But when Moss was felled by a season-ending ankle injury in their playoff win over Indianapolis, the Bills turned back to Singletary.
Now that the season is over, there are serious questions whether either will be part of the planned resurgence of their running game.
Singletary's yards-per-carry dropped from 5.1 yards as a rookie to 4.4 in his second year.
His salary cap hit for 2021 comes in at under $1 million, so it would be foolish to let him go.
On the other hand, it's no secret that they've lost confidence in him.
Zack Moss
Even more powerfully built than the compact Singletary, Moss (5-9, 225) was being used more than Singletary by the end of the regular season. But he wasn't much of a factor in the passing game, then we was lost with the ankle injury.
He also comes cheap after being drafted in the third round in 2020, so he's not expected to be going anywhere in a season when inexpensive labor will be at a premium for the Bills.
Still, they are expected to be looking for at least one more running back in the draft this year, only maybe higher than the third round this time.
Antonio Williams
An undrafted rookie in 2010, Williams spent most of the season on the practice squad until being elevated for their final regular-season game, when he carried 12 times for 63 yards and two touchdowns and caught a 20-yard pass.
The former North Carolina player has signed a futures contract.
Christian Wade
The 29-year-old accomplished pro rugby star from England hasn't played a down in the NFL yet, but he's signed to another futures contract after spending the last two seasons on the Bills' practice squad.
His progress will continue to be fascinating to track.
The draft
Though the Bills and general manager Brandon Beane are expected to seek more health in the draft, Beane did offer this caveat in his season-ending press conference:
"I think it's so unfair to look at the running backs to point blame on the running game," he said. "Running the football is very complex and it's obviously the O-line, it's the tight ends, it's the receivers and if one guy doesn't make his block the play's probably dead.
"And so there were times this year where we're one guy away, and whether it's a tight end or whether it was a lineman, it's a big gainer and you're going, 'Gosh, if we just get this guy blocked.' We had that at times. I'm not saying there's no blame. Sometimes the running back missed the hole. But it's one of those things you've got to practice, you've got to emphasize and you've got to work on it and that's something that we'll definitely look at."
So could the Bills go running back in the first round? If so, would Clemson's Travis Etienne interest them if still on the board at No. 30?
If not, would Alabama's Najee Harris or Memphis' Kenneth Gainwell make sense in the second?
The running back position has become largely devalued over the years in the NFL. So it's hard to know what the Bills are thinking and even more difficult to predict how they will act.
Nick Fierro is the publisher of Bills Central. Check out the latest Bills news at www.si.com/nfl/bills and follow Fierro on Twitter at @NickFierro.
