Buffalo Bills Rumors: 4 possible ripple effects of a DeAndre Hopkins trade

Possible ripple effects of a Buffalo Bills, DeAndre Hopkins trade: Bills don’t finish in top 10 of rushing attacks in 2023

Last season, the Bills were one of the only teams to finish within the top 10 in both passing and rushing, largely in part to Josh Allen. Buffalo finished 9th in the league in rushing during the regular season, led by Devin Singletary’s 819.

Allen contributed an impressive 762 yards on the ground, while rookie James Cook produced 507 himself. Buffalo never shied away from running the football, due to a couple of reasons. First, their run blocking was much better than pass protection for the majority of the season. Because of that, Allen was forced to take off much more often than he would have probably liked.

Secondly, the Bills just didn’t have that sure-handed, dependable number two receiver behind Diggs. No one consistently stepped up. With Hopkins in Buffalo, Allen wouldn’t have to worry about it being the Stefon Diggs show. Hopkins has one of the widest catch radiuses in the game, still, today. Allen would have no shortage of options between his two wideouts.

Chances are, the Bills would finish in the top three of passing next season, if not number one overall. That would also mean less beatings taken by Allen, assuming he does indeed get improved protection.