Running back is one of, if not, the most interesting positions to talk about for the Buffalo Bills this offseason.
Everyone has an opinion on what the team should do, but most fans appear to want the Bills to do something at running back.
If the Bills do, indeed, do something tangible in the backfield, someone's got to go.
The Bills have four running backs under contract for the 2021 season: Devin Singletary, Zack Moss, Antonio Williams, and Christian Wade.
There are typically four running back roles on the Bills roster: Two staple backs who play on offense, your T.J. Yeldon-type who sits as a healthy scratch, and a special teamer like Taiwan Jones.
If the Bills go out and add a free agent back or invest a pick of real value into the position, that guy is going to play, and probably play a lot.
In 2020, the Bills handed out 1,098 snaps to the running back position on offense:
- Devin Singletary: 621 (16 games)
- Zack Moss: 403 (13 games)
- T.J. Yeldon: 42 (3 games)
- Antonio Williams: 28 (1 game)
- Taiwan Jones: 4 (13 games)
If Najee Harris, Travis Etienne, or Chris Carson walks through the door at One Bills Drive, he is going to take a massive cut from Singletary or Moss.
So, who's the odd man out?
This point is not an indictment on Singletary's talent, because I do believe he is good at what he does. Singletary is an efficient runner between the tackles, who's best trait is making defenders miss in tight spaces.
The Bills misfired with what type of running back they had in Singletary in the 2020 offseason. The Bills drafting a big bruising runner in Moss was a death sentence for Singletary long-term.
With Moss in the picture, Singletary was asked to play a role he is not suited to play: The burner. The speed demon. The guy who you toss a screen pass to and watch him take it the distance. The guy who lines up wide and laughs at linebackers trying to cover him in space.
That guy is not Singletary.
Now, Singletary is a round peg trying to fit into a square hole. A hole the Bills might want to fill with someone like Memphis running back Kenneth Gainwell in the draft, or free agent Matt Breida. There are countless options for the Bills that fit into a dynamic pass-catching running back role better than Singletary does.
The good news for Singletary is Bills general manager Brandon Beane did not sound as though he's going to be aggressively looking to add to the backfield this offseason.
When Beane was asked at his end-of-season press conference about whether he thought the team needed to add at running back he said:
"We felt either one of those guys could start for us and play most of the game."
If the Bills do nothing at running back, Singletary comes back to split time with Moss.
If the Bills do something, Moss outranks Singletary.
Moss is an incredible pass-blocking running back and gives the Bills a physical presence in the backfield. A natural compliment to an Etienne-type running back.
In addition Moss was just drafted last season, and out-snapped Singletary in seven of the team's final nine regular season games.
I don't see a scenario where the Bills choose Singletary over Moss. That means if the Bills add a back, Singletary either gets cut or becomes Yeldon.
Could the Bills trade Singletary? They might be able to fetch a late round pick for him, but I wouldn't anticipate much more than that.
Simply put, if the Bills add a running back, they subtract Singletary.