Houston Texans running back Dameon Pierce will not suit up in Week 9, which means that backup running back Devin Singletary has a chance to shine in fantasy football. The former Buffalo Bill has largely been an afterthought this year, but can he step up and put together a flex-caliber performance against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers?
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Fantasy Football: Can Devin Singletary Shine Without Dameon Pierce?
Devin Singletary Himself
After spending the first four years of his career with the Buffalo Bills, Devin Singletary signed a one-year deal with the Houston Texans during the offseason. Added to compete with incumbent Dameon Pierce, Singletary has clearly been the backup in this committee. Singletary enters Week 9 as the RB56 and only has two games with 10 or more carries. As it turns out, there is a reason for this limited usage. While Pierce hasn’t set the world on fire by any means, Devin Singletary has been equally unremarkable, both in real-life and fantasy football. Singletary currently has a 55.9 PFF grade, making him the 51st-ranked running back out of 54 eligible players.
Obviously, that’s not good, but you need more than one metric to adequately evaluate a player. Strangely enough, the advanced stat-based metrics imply Singletary has been a good but not great player in 2023. According to PlayerProfiler, the running back currently ranks seventh in juke rate (26.8%), 22nd in yards created per touch (3.27), and 38th in breakaway run rate (2%). Basically, this tells us that Singletary can make the first man miss, but he lacks the juice to outrun a defense and churn out big plays.
We also know that Singletary is not going to do much as a receiver. Going all the way back to college, Singletary has never been a good pass-catching back, and he never recorded more than 280 receiving yards in any season during his time with the Bills. Ultimately, this means that Singletary is going to see a good amount of volume, but he’s not going to get the valuable touches or big plays. A player like this obviously has a limited ceiling but can be an adequate start in the right matchup. The only question is whether or not the stars aligned for Singletary in Week 9.
The Matchup
Devin Singletary and the Houston Texans face off against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in Week 9, and that is terrible news for fantasy football. The Buccaneers have changed a lot over the past few years, but the one constant is the elite run defense. Tampa Bay allows the second-fewest points per game to the running back position, and that’s not likely to change any time soon. Vita Vea is still a top-five interior lineman, and Houston’s offensive line is going to have a tough time getting any movement against this unit. With very few exceptions, a running back is only as good as their offensive line, so look for Singletary to see a lot of contact in the backfield.
Ultimately, Devin Singletary will start and see a full workload, so if you’re desperate for a fantasy football starter, you can plug him in. However, his combination of talent and matchup means that he’s probably going to finish the day as a low-end flex play. If you start him, you’ll have to hope he finds his way into the endzone.
Main Photo: Jim Dedmon – USA Today Sports
