NFL Analytics predicted the most-improved player for each team in the league heading into 2021. For the Buffalo Bills, it was one of their two running backs in the backfield.
Zack Moss started to see more touches than Devin Singletary when last season wore on until an ankle injury ended his postseason. Still, that’s the direction NFL.com sees the Bills’ selection going as Moss was pegged as Buffalo’s most improved player ahead of next year.
Here’s the breakdown on Moss:
Next Gen Stats show that Moss averaged 4.0 yards per rush on runs between the tackles last season and 4.5 yards on attempts outside the tackles. For comparison’s sake, Devin Singletary averaged 3.1 yards per rush inside and 5.2 outside. Prior to his ankle injury in the Wild Card Round, Moss’ workload had been steadily increasing while his production stayed at a high level. Buffalo is blessed with a ton of continuity on offense, including coordinator Brian Daboll still pulling the strings, and it’s likely that familiarity will lead to even more opportunities for Moss in his sophomore campaign. Why? Because even a small increase in rushing production will help keep Josh Allen from being under pressure and should decrease the chances for turnovers and/or negative plays.
While Moss might be a solid candidate to be Buffalo’s most-improved player, he cannot do it on his own. All the fancy stats about Moss can trend in the right direction all they want, but the Bills need a better offensive line if that’s going to happen.
Last season, the O-line did both Moss and Singletary no favors. Despite blocking well for quarterback Josh Allen in pass protection, it wasn’t the same for the running backs.
Buffalo is banking on the same O-line being better, too. No real additions were made there this offseason. An optimist would hope that another year together means more chemistry building along offensive linemen leads to better play in the trenches.
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