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What Week 1 tells us about Bills running backs in fantasy football

The Bills made an unexpected decision to bench Zack Moss. We break down what to make of Buffalo’s running back situation after Week 1.

Devin Bush #55 of the Pittsburgh Steelers hits Devin Singletary #26 of the Buffalo Bills during the second half at Highmark Stadium on September 12, 2021 in Orchard Park, New York. Photo by Bryan M. Bennett/Getty Images

Throughout the 2021 offseason, Buffalo Bills running backs Devin Singletary and Zack Moss were being selected in fantasy football drafts not too far from each other. By the start of the 2021 regular season, Moss’ consensus ADP was 90 in standard leagues and 104 in PPR leagues, while Singletary’s consensus ADP was 99 in standard leagues and 112 in PPR leagues.

It made for difficult decisions heading into Week 1 as to where you might find value. And then 90 minutes before kickoff, the Bills turned everything on its ear when they deactivated Moss.

The team kept Matt Breida active as Singletary’s backup. After the game, the team said it was a numbers decision in activating backup tight end Tommy Sweeney over Moss. Of course, Sweeney only played two snaps and was a third tight end behind Dawson Knox and Reggie Gilliam.

Fantasy football analysis: analysis: Bills RBs Devin Singletary, Zack Moss, Matt Breida

Singletary finished Sunday’s game with 11 carries for 72 yards and three receptions for eight yards while Breida had four carries for four yards. The game was a disaster for the Bills so even getting eight or 11 points (standard vs. PPR) from Singletary was better than how it could have turned out.

Breida is a solid running back who could pick up more work if he shows the explosiveness he displayed in San Francisco. Moss can serve as the team’s power back, which gives him a different skillset than both Singletary and Breida. Look for Moss to be active in Week 2.

Week 2 recommendation

Moss is currently on more ESPN rosters than Singletary (71.6% vs. 68.5%) while Breida is on only 0.6% of rosters. Singletary is the guy at this point and the only Bills back worth starting for the time being. However, keep an eye out when Moss gets dropped in a substantial number of leagues this week. He isn’t going to be a good start option in Week 2, but he’s worth grabbing if someone foolishly chooses to release him after one week of being inactive.