Fantasy Football Player Notes

2021 was a somewhat odd season for Stefon Diggs as his fantasy production took a step back from his first season in Buffalo. His 29% target share fell to 24% as did his yards per route run (2.5 versus 1.8). This resulted in Diggs finishing with just two games with at least 90 receiving yards, a dramatic decrease from his ten 90-plus yard outings during the 2020 regular season.

He finished as a top-15 WR just once through the first nine weeks of the season but improved down the stretch as Buffalo's offense hit its stride. He had three top-10 finishes as the WR8 in fantasy points per game in half-point scoring (14.8).

Still, top-5 upside still exists with Diggs in this explosive Bills offense even if his target share holds at 24% in 2022. Because his command of high-value targets in the Buffalo offense was unmatched by almost every other WR in the NFL.

He was one of just two WRs to hit over 2,000 air yards (Justin Jefferson). Diggs also commanded the most end-zone targets in the NFL (25) during the regular season - six more than the next closest receiver (Justin Jefferson).

Once ridiculed for being scatter-armed and unpolished, Allen has become one of the premier quarterbacks in the game. He's led all QBs in fantasy scoring in each of the last two seasons. Allen's completions percentage and YPA slipped a bit from 2020 to 2021, and his interception rate ticked up, but he more than made up for it with a career-high 763 rushing yards. Allen has always been an aggressive and effective runner, and that isn't likely to change in 2022.

Gabriel Davis averaged 19.8 fantasy points per game (PPR) and 16.0 expected fantasy points per game in his last six games while running a route on 88% of dropbacks as the Bills finally emphasized his playing time in the offense.

As a strong bet to earn the No. 2 wide receiver job come opening day, Davis has a legitimate shot to be a reliable fantasy option in a Josh Allen-led offense in 2022.

Dawson Knox has major red flags on his profile from his impending touchdown regression to super-low target rate per route run (14%), so any role that O.J. Howard potential earns
coming in is a massive problem.

Considering Knox is being drafted in the middle-range of TEs (TE9) that typically have poor ROIs compared to guys going later, the Bills tight end remains hands-off.

Rookie running back James Cook has immediate sleeper fantasy appeal across all PPR formats based on his second-round draft capital, pass-catching prowess, explosiveness and offensive situation. The 5-foot-11, 199-pound running back has more than enough heft to manage a decent workload especially as a receiver out of the backfield. The 5-foot-7, 203-pound Devin Singletary was the RB3 over the last six weeks of the regular season when the Bills entrenched him as the featured guy. Cook with an ECR of RB44 seems priced closer to their floor than his ceiling considering Round 2 running backs have finished as top-36 running backs more than half the time (55%) since 2013.

Once regarded as an elite TE prospect, Howard has been little more than a blocking tight end the last two years. Even with the move to Buffalo, it seems unlikely that Howard will become an impact fantasy contributor.

Isaiah McKenzie looked primed to take on the starting slot role after the team moved on from Cole Beasley. After all, McKenzie showed up big-time in his last two starts with Beasley sidelined.

But the dream of a full-time role for McKenzie will have to wait after the team signed former Jets slot wide receiver Jamison Crowder (WR - BUF) to a one-year $4M deal. He is making almost as much money in 2021 alone as McKenzie is over two years ($4.4M).

Needless to say, Crowder will likely be the Day 1 starter in the slot and fantasy gamers will have to wait for another injury for McKenzie to see a fantasy-worthy role. Remember this coaching staff is the same unit that played 33-year-old Emmanuel Sanders (WR - BUF) over Gabriel Davis (WR - BUF) for 80% of the 2021 season.

I don't doubt they will do the same with Crowder and McKenzie in 2022.