Buffalo Bills: Why Devin Singletary can be even better in 2020
By Daniel Bruce
Reviewing Singletary’s 2019 season
Coming from a small school in Florida Atlantic, and having limited speed; when he ran a 4.66 40-yard dash, there were doubts with Singletary.
When Buffalo cut LeSean McCoy before the 2019 season commenced, fans took notice. When the Bills opted with the young rookie over the future Hall of Fame running back expectations were sky high for the Florida Atlantic product.
Devin Singletary did not disappoint.
In his very first game in the NFL, the rookie touched the ball 9 times for 98 yards and willed the team to victory. Kickstarting the offense, the young running back rushed for 50 yards on 3 carries to carry the Buffalo Bills inside the five en route to their first touchdown:
The explosive plays wouldn’t stop there and in next game versus the New York Giants, Singletary would have 6 attempts for 57 yards and score his first touchdown in the NFL:
After a dream start, Singletary would miss the next three games with a hamstring injury, and in his first two games back he didn’t do too much to impress. However, in Week 9 he would take the starting job. Getting a huge increase in carries with 20 and totaling 95 yards and a touchdown on the ground, with 45 receiving yards versus the Washington Redskins.
Over the last half of the season, he totaled 603 yards and a touchdown on 4.6 yards per carry, and added 136 yards through the air with a touchdown. The Buffalo Bills were a completely different team with Singletary getting the majority of the playing time, with the ability to create some versatility as opposed to Gore when they would usually implement 12 or 13 personnel.
With one last game on Wild Card Weekend, Singletary was the Bills best player on offense and it wasn’t particularly close. Finishing the heartbreaking loss with 58 yards rushing and a career high 76 yards receiving. Including this great screen pass reception for 38 yard in his most explosive play of the game:
In totality it was a tremendous year for the rookie, totaling 775 yards on the ground with an average 5.1 yards per carry (3rd among RBs), adding 29 receptions for 194 yards and 2 touchdowns receiving. The incredibly efficient running back had a great start to what looks like a promising career.