The Desai Guys continue their Fantasy Football deep dive with the Buffalo Bills.
Last season, the Buffalo Bills played in one of the most epic playoff games in recent memory. While they ended up losing that game, the ending led to the NFL changing the playoff overtime rules so that both teams will receive an offensive possession in overtime. Buffalo now heads into the 2022 season with the hopes of making the playoffs for the fourth straight season and the fifth time in the last six seasons.
They have the roster to do it but they also have the roster that can win you a fantasy football league title. You obviously know about the likes of Josh Allen and Stefon Diggs but this article will take a look at some of the other players on offense that will help you win your fantasy football leagues this season. Let’s jump in!
Leave Your Fantasy Football Draft With This Player
Gabriel Davis, WR
Entering the 2022 season, Buffalo’s passing offense lost Cole Beasley and Emmanuel Sanders, vacating 184 targets. It’s no secret that Stefon Diggs will see some of those targets come his way but the second and third options in this aerial attack are up for grabs. Gabriel Davis has a good shot of securing the #2 role in this offense after putting everyone on notice during the 2021 AFC Divisional game against the Kansas City Chiefs. Davis was able to total eight receptions for 201 receiving yards and four receiving touchdowns and he really made his case for becoming a more prominent piece in this offense.
Davis has to worry about the offseason addition of Jamison Crowder and the other emerging young receivers in Isaiah McKenzie and rookie Khalil Shakir. With all these additional pieces in the passing offense, this could be a situation where besides Diggs, we may not get a consistent producer. Every week could see a different receiver benefitting from the extra coverage going towards Diggs.
Davis is slated to take more of a role in this offense but he has a very feast-or-famine type of look to him as well. Last season, Davis had the highest yards per reception on the team with 15.7. This spells out that Davis could benefit from a home run play to make him a strong option, but if he doesn’t hit with that play, then what’s his value to you?
So even with concerns that Davis not producing from week to week, he’s still a must-add to your fantasy football roster. If you look at his current draft projection, Davis is going somewhere around the seventh round. He’s being pooled together with the likes of Juju Smith-Schuster, Hunter Renfrow, and Elijah Moore. Those are some great options but Davis is in an offense that is going to get more than enough opportunities to score with the great defense the Bills have.
Don’t let his consistency scare you away because he’s going to be a solid option as the season rolls along and becomes more of an overall threat instead of being just a deep ball threat. So while Davis could throw in some duds for you during the fantasy season, his overall scoring will take your team to the fantasy football postseason.
Rookie Fantasy Football Difference Maker
James Cook, RB
James Cook has a total of 297 touches during his entire college career which bodes well for his NFL career. He started his college career being behind D’Andre Swift for two seasons, then had the COVID season in 2020, and then shared a backfield with Zamir White last season.
Now the majority of those touches came in his senior season where he led the team in scrimmage yards. So as mentioned with such little wear and tear on his body and finishing his college career on a high note, Cook was a highly rated prospect coming into the 2022 NFL Draft. This led the Bills to draft him in the second round with the 63rd overall selection.
Coming to Buffalo, Cook joins Devin Singletary and Zack Moss as the feature runners in the Bills offense. One of the big things that favor Cook in this offense is his ability to catch the ball out of the backfield. Moss is more of a runner and Singletary can catch the ball as well but he’s not as natural of a receiver as Cook is.
Buffalo ranked fifth in passing attempts last season, so Cook should see the field quite a bit compared to the other running backs on this roster. Singletary’s ability as a runner will definitely earn him his fair share of touches but just expect this offense to be a formidable 1-2 punch for opposing defenses to worry about.
Moss might be the odd man out but the writing was on the wall last season when he was a healthy scratch in Weeks 13 and 14. Moss could be a factor to vulture some touchdowns, but that is the only value he has in this backfield when it comes to fantasy football.
Speaking of which, Cook is going to be a great addition to your roster in PPR leagues. As stated, Cook is going to be the primary pass-catcher in this backfield but should see some carries as well. Singletary is the starter for now, but there was a reason that the Bills drafted Moss in the third round in the 2020 NFL Draft and then Cook in the second round in the 2022 NFL Draft. Buffalo clearly wants more from their running backs and Singletary will definitely concede carries to Cook.
In fantasy football drafts, Cook will be drafted in the 11th round most likely but no earlier than the 10th round. Cook is a great player to have on your bench to be a FLEX position type of player and if he totally usurps the lead role from Singletary, consider him a possible RB2 then. Either way, selecting Cook for your fantasy football roster is a smart decision.
Potential Fantasy Football Breakout Player
Devin Singletary, RB
With all the talk about Cook being the future for the Bills rushing attack, this doesn’t mean that he’ll be the lead back from the kickoff of this 2022 season. Singeltary is still a big piece of this Bills offense but he’s very much on thin ice. Singletary is the lead running back heading into the 2022 season, but he’s going to have to build on his impressive 2021 season with another strong season in 2022.
Last season, Singeltary had one of his best seasons in the NFL as he finished with 870 rushing yards which were more than Leonard Fournette, Aaron Jones, and James Conner. This led him to be second on the team in scrimmage yards and total touchdowns. Singletary also finished as the 18th-ranked fantasy football running back last season. To add to that point, Singletary was actually the eighth-best fantasy running back in the second half of the season (Weeks 11 through 18).
So he’s getting a lot more comfortable in this offense now and is also entering his contract year with the Bills. Expect Singletary is going to do whatever he can to make his mark in this Bills offense so he can earn a big payday in the offseason.
Singletary is going to be a sneaky good pickup in fantasy football drafts. Most managers are going to overlook him because Buffalo drafted Cook to add to the backfield, but Singletary is going to be a solid contributor to this Bills offense.
Expect Singletary to be an RB2 for your roster and you can probably select him in the middle rounds, somewhere around round eight. While Singletary is not going to single-handedly win you a week in fantasy football this season, he’ll be a dependable option to get you at least double-digit points on a consistent basis. That sort of production is greatly appreciated when you’re drafting your fantasy team.
Fantasy Football Bold Prediction
Gabriel Davis Will Finish As A Top-15 Fantasy Wide Receiver
Stefon Diggs is still the primary option in this passing offense. Davis is going to take over that second option and he’ll be a fantasy revelation at the same time. The departures of Beasley and Sanders from this passing offense will mean that Davis is going to step up into the role opposite of Diggs.
Taking another look at that 2021 AFC Divisional playoff game between the Bills and Chiefs, Diggs was held in check with only three receptions for seven receiving yards. The defense was focused on Diggs which allowed Davis to have the exceptional game that he had.
So you can expect a similar thing to happen during the early parts of the season in 2022. Defenses will go to give extra coverage for Diggs and all the other playmakers in the passing offense will flourish because of that. Davis will be the main beneficiary and his home-run ability will certainly work in your favor in fantasy football leagues. Davis has all the makings of being a 2022 league winner and you don’t want to let someone else win a league by letting Davis go in a fantasy draft.
