By Nick Wojton / Billswire.usatoday.com
The Buffalo Bills running back room is packed. Rookie Devin Singletary certainly recognized the faces around it when he arrived via the 2019 NFL draft.
Buffalo general manager Brandon Beane said after the draft that Singletary was the running back that stood out to him at the most, adding he can make players miss tackles “in a phone booth.” That’s one way to describe current Bills running back LeSean McCoy.
Garnering even more respect than McCoy’s skill across the league is Frank Gore and his longevity. Gore is also in Buffalo. Plus, there’s TJ Yeldon who’s no slouch himself.
Recently appearing on the team’s radio show, Singletary said he was well aware of the skilled room he was entering.
“First walking in, just seeing LeSean and Frank, those two guys I watched growing up,” Singletary said. “Week in and week out I see those guys making plays. And then you got TJ and while I was in high school, he was in college doing his thing.”
“Really, just [want to] come in and earn respect. Earn my place in there, and just coming to work every day and learning all that I can learn. So far it’s been going pretty well for me,” Singletary added.
Despite Singletary looking up to those around him before while now competing with them, he’s not trying to make things harder on himself than they have to be. Singletary isn’t worrying whether or not there will be room for him.
“No anxiety. Like I said before, however it plays out, that’s the way it’s supposed to play out. Whatever my role is, I’m going to be ready to play my role,” Singletary said.
The rookie’s mindset is a positive and “process” one to have. But the reality of the situation is, he should be fairly safe in terms of a roster spot as a third-round draft pick. The Bills will want to give him time to develop. During organized team activities over the past three weeks, Singletary, McCoy and Gore have gotten first-team reps, per reports.
Speculation insists that the Bills will have to get rid of one of the other three (including Yeldon) when final roster cuts come at the end of training camp. Fullback Patrick DiMarco could also be on the chopping block, too. Once training camp rolls around and there’s actual hitting, unlike OTAs, we’ll get a much better feel on a potential backfield depth chart.