Nyheim Hines was traded to the Buffalo Bills in a trade deadline deal that sent back second-string running back Zack Moss and a conditional sixth-round pick to the Indianapolis Colts.
The move should reduce passing down reps for incumbent starter Devin Singletary, our director of predictive analytics Sean Koerner said. That doesn't bode well for Singletary's fantasy football owners.
Singletary had been a workhorse this season and has posted a 61% route participation rate through seven games.
But now, the Bills have the luxury of affording Singletary far more rushing down looks, keeping him fresh when the team is in shortage yardage situations. Hines will likely be used as primarily a passing down back.
The former Colts running back has caught for more yards than he's rushed for over his career.
His 1,725 yards through the air trump his 1,205 yards via rushing attempts over his five seasons in the NFL.
"Hines may play a role similar to what we thought rookie James Cook could be," Koerner said.
As for Cook, he's bounced back solidly since fumbling the first carry of his career against the Rams in Week 1. But for fantasy, he's not necessarily 100% dependable.
"He gets a ton of mop up duty when the Bills are up big," Koerner said. "Considering they will see plenty of blowouts going forward, he still may have that mop up role on lockdown. Can't really bank on that in fantasy though."
