2020 Summer Sleeper: Buffalo Bills

Dwight Peebles Posted On July 16, 2020

In our annual 32-part Summer Sleeper series, DLF scribes identify a lightly-touted player on each NFL roster who may be worthy of your consideration. Our subjects all have varying levels of “sleeperness,” but each merits a bit of in-depth discussion here in the Premium Content section.

To help everybody along, we are going to be categorizing our sleepers under one of three headings:

Super Deep Sleepers – Players who aren’t roster-worthy in 12-team leagues, but are still worth keeping an eye on.
Deep Sleepers – An end of the roster player who is more often than not on the waiver wire in 12-team leagues.
Sleeper – A likely rostered player who makes for a good trade target. Their startup ADP puts them out of the top-175 or so.

Because we aren’t going to give you the likes of mainstream sleepers, most of these players will undoubtedly fizzle. All we are asking is for you to keep an open mind and perhaps be willing to make room for one of these players on your bench. You never know when the next Adam Thielen is going to spring up. Feel free to add your own thoughts about our choice for the designated sleeper, or nominate one of your own in the comments below.

The Buffalo Bills rely on a strong running game and fierce defense to win games. In the off-season, the team made a huge splash by trading for receiver Stefon Diggs to give the passing game a much-needed jolt. Diggs pairs with veteran speedster John Brown and the efficient Cole Beasley to give Josh Allen three versatile weapons.

Second-year tight end Dawson Knox gives the young quarterback a reliable underneath option as well. Opposing defenses will need to respect the passing game, opening up things for running backs Devin Singletary and Zach Moss. All this in turn makes the rushing ability of Allen even more dangerous and unpredictable.

The biggest wild card in all of this is the health of Diggs and Brown. Diggs has missed ten games in six seasons and missed chunks of other games due to various injuries. Brown sat out nine games in the same span but had other games where he missed significant time or was obviously limited despite playing. This could open up an opportunity for a rookie to step in and give the Bills a dangerous downfield threat.

Isaiah Hodgins, WR

Category: Deep Sleeper

The path to Hodgins being a relevant fantasy player will be a steep one. He is buried in the depth chart behind the players listed above. Isaiah McKenzie, Robert Foster, and Andre Roberts have been in the league and are currently ahead of Hodgins too. The team also drafted Gabriel Davis from the University of Central Florida two rounds ahead of him, and Davis could be in a spot to get snaps as well.

I love Davis quite a bit as more of a possession receiver in the case that Beasley misses time. The rest of the depth chart doesn’t inspire much confidence at all and Hodgins has much more raw talent than any of them.

screen shot 2020 07 14 at 08.04.18

Stats courtesy of sports-reference.com.

Hodgins had a strong sophomore season and emerged as one of the top receivers in the country in his junior season. He was among the NCAA leaders in receptions and his 13 scores showcased how he could see playing time with the Bills.

The former Beaver has impressive ball skills and his timing when tracking deep balls is almost elite. He jumps well and has an enormous wingspan. He also has strong hands and uses body position well to box out defenders. For a huge receiver, his fluidity is impressive but his route-running could use work.

Hodgins doesn’t have elite breakaway speed and is not dangerous after the catch. He needs to work on route running and also add some upper body strength. There are some physical limitations that would prevent him from being an elite receiver. He will win contested balls often and provide a solid red-zone threat when he is on the field.

The Bills’ depth chart is muddled with veterans and young players with little upside. Brown is a starter but entering his age-30 season and only under contract through 2021. Diggs has immense talent and locked up for several seasons but has fought injuries and is kind of an interesting fit for the Bills’ offense.

Hodgins could work his way onto the field. His fantasy outlook is a WR3 at best, with a full workload he could give the team a good red-zone and deep-ball target. Touchdowns will be in his future but his upside is limited by his route-running and lack of deep speed.