Devin Singletary was brought to the Houston Texans as a complementary piece to Dameon Pierce but ended up producing at a career level for the upstart Texans. His value has clearly risen over the past five months, and that should result in some interest for the 26-year-old.
Where could he land, and will he have a shot to build on his encouraging 2023 fantasy football campaign? Any conversation focused around a back that peaks a little later in his career than usual is always an interesting one come draft day, and Singletary is no exception.
My interest in him is very likely to be price-sensitive, but let’s take a look at some what-if situations when it comes to his immediate future.
Potential Landing Spots for Devin Singletary
Las Vegas Raiders
The Raiders are more than likely moving on from Josh Jacobs this offseason, and while Zamir White showed well down the stretch (114.3 yards per game in Vegas’ final four contests), who is to say that the Raiders don’t opt for some veteran insurance as a hedge to their bet on him?
Singletary isn’t a game-breaking type of back (216 carries with the Texans, and not one of them gained 25 yards), but he proved more than capable of getting the job done, and that might be enough for the Raiders to be interested as they look to develop Aidan O’Connell.
- 2023: 83.8% of carries gained yardage
- 2019-22 (with BUF): 82.7% of carries gained yardage
The Texans ran out there an objectively bad offensive line (24th in RB yards per carry before contact), and yet Singletary was able to make the most of it. The Raiders ranked 15th in RB yards per carry before contact last season, a rate that could improve with time if O’Connell progresses and demands more defensive respect.
This isn’t the perfect landing spot, and a bell-cow role likely wouldn’t be his from the jump, but there are more positives in Singletary’s profile than he gets credit for, and this is a landing spot that would at least have my interest.
Baltimore Ravens
The Ravens were a top-eight team in terms of both rushing yards and yards per carry by running backs this season, thanks in large part to the creativity and quick scheming of offensive coordinator Todd Monken and the athletic gifts of Lamar Jackson.
Gus Edwards is a free agent, and while undrafted rookie Keaton Mitchell certainly looked the part when given the opportunity (56 touches for 489 yards and a pair of scores), a torn ACL in the middle of December figures to put a cap on how much he will be used when he returns to action.
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Singletary’s ability to keep drives moving might be a perfect fit for this Baltimore offense. Mitchell can be the big-play option when he returns, while Singletary is productive enough between the tackles to keep the Ravens in front of the chains.
A move like this would land Singletary on my low-end RB2 radar, and I actually think it would have a nice little ripple effect on the passing game, as traditional balance would help this unique aerial attack create even more mismatches.
