2022 Buffalo Bills Odds, Schedule, & Fantasy Football Team Preview
The start of the NFL season is right around the corner and we are here to help you prepare for your season-long drafts, for your bestball drafts, for your DFS Week 1 lineups, and for your season-long bets. I honestly can’t remember another time when there was so much buzz around the AFC East. The Patriots dominated forever and have recently passed the baton to the Bills, but there are now three potential playoff teams in this division.
The Bills have to be motivated after losing to the Chiefs in one of the best NFL playoffs games in history. They were seconds away from advancing to the AFC Championship (which would have been in Buffalo), but the defense couldn’t stop Patrick Mahomes. This team has made the playoffs in each of the last three years and are currently the odds-on favorite to win the Super Bowl. Sean McDermott returns as the head coach, Leslie Frazier returns as the defensive coordinator, and last year’s quarterback coach Ken Dorsey will take over as the offensive coordinator.
This team and this city has Super Bowl aspirations and feel like the team to beat in the AFC.
Be sure to check out all the great sports betting, fantasy football, and DFS content available on RotoGrinders leading up to kickoff. We’ll be covering fantasy football for BestBall with Spike Week, rankings and projections, DFS preseason with RotoGrinders Premium, and RotoGrinders Premium and Sports betting at RG and ScoresAndOdds.
2022 Buffalo Bills Schedule, Lines, and Best Bets
Projected Odds, derived & modified from data originally published by Sean Koerner here.
Win Total and Total Games Favored:
11.5 (-140) / 15 Games Favored ( 9 Big Favorites / 0 Big Dogs)
When looking to bet team totals, analyzing a teams strengths and weaknesses can give us a good idea of what to expect heading into the season. For the Bills, it’s more like analyzing the teams strengths and strengths. Josh Allen is one of the best quarterbacks in the NFL and other than the playoff loss to the Chiefs, the Bills had one of the best defensive units in football. It’s hard to imagine Buffalo taking steps backward defensively after adding Von Miller, who knows how to win big games and will be a huge locker room presence for the team. On top of that, shut-down cornerback Tre’Davious White is set to return after missing half of last season with an ACL injury.
The Bills do have some tough games to open the season. They take on the defending champions in Week 1, they face the Ravens in Week 4, and they take on the Chiefs in Week 6. After the bye in Week 7, it should be smooth sailing for Buffalo (look at all those below average and weak boxes for their opponents in the table above). They are currently favored in 15 of their 17 games and are big favorites in nine of them. They are only one-point underdogs in the two games where they aren’t favored, so we should consider those very winnable games.
Favorite Bet: Over 12.5 Wins // +175 on DraftKings
Let’s see… a top tier quarterback, one of the best receiving corps in the league, a solid front seven, a great secondary, and a great coaching staff. Am I missing anything here? Oh yeah, the Bills suffered a brutal loss in the playoffs which kept everyone motivated in the offseason. The official win total is set at 11.5 wins, but I want even better odds on the team that I think will finish with the best record in football. I am taking the adjusted team total and betting the over on 12.5 wins.
Prize Picks Top Props
PrizePicks is a site where you can use your fantasy knowledge to make prop parlays and win cash. It’s also perfect if you love player props but aren’t in a state with legal sports betting.
Favorite Prop: Gabriel Davis Over 875 Receiving Yards
We shouldn’t put too much stock into the fact that Davis had 10 receptions for 242 yards and five touchdowns in the two playoff games last season, but we shouldn’t ignore it either. After a late-season breakout, he’s poised to be the clear WR2 in one of the best offenses in football. With Cole Beasley and Emmanuel Sanders both gone, Davis is likely to command a higher target share. Newly-acquired Jamison Crowder will mix in as well, but he’ll essentially take over the Beasley role. Davis should be close to an every-down player this season and he’s clearly earned trust from Allen after his playoff performances. If you like long-shot bets, he’s currently +4000 to lead the league in receiving yards.
Buffalo Bills Fantasy Football Projections
Team Rankings and Ratings
Offense Ranks:Rank 4/ Below Average Rush / Elite Pass/ Rank 1 Points For)
Defense Ranks:Rank 2/ Average Rush / Elite pass / Rank 26 Points Allowed)
Opponent Strength – Rushing:6 difficult vs. rush. 5 soft vs. rush.
Opponent Strength – Passing:6 difficult vs. pass. 3 soft vs, pass.
As noted above, it’s hard to find a weakness on the Bills. They finished the 2021 season as the fourth best offense and as the second best defense. They could be even better offensively and they should certainly be better defensively. There were times last season when I questioned the offense in games where they were big favorites, but Josh Allen and company kept their foot on the gas even when playing with big leads.
The Bills were ranked in the top 10 in pass play percentage and in situation-neutral pace last season and there’s nothing to suggest that will change this year. They are going to be one of the top scoring teams in the league and that will naturally lead to a lot of fantasy production. The backfield will be the one area of concern for fantasy football players, as we could have four running backs competing for touches.
Buffalo Bills Top Fantasy Football Plays & Picks
Noteworthy Depth Chart
QB: Josh Allen – Underdog Rank: 29 (ADP 29 / 0% ADP Gap)
RB: Devin Singletary – Underdog Rank: 105 (ADP 99 / -5.71% ADP Gap)
RB: James Cook – Underdog Rank: 107 (ADP 111 / 3.74% ADP Gap)
WR: Stefon Diggs – Underdog Rank: 6 (ADP 8 / 33.33% ADP Gap)
WR: Gabriel Davis – Underdog Rank: 37 (ADP 44 / 18.92% ADP Gap)
WR: Jamison Crowder – Underdog Rank: 115 (ADP 136 – 18.26% ADP Gap)
TE: Dawson Knox – Underdog Rank: 99 (ADP 101 / 2.02% ADP Gap)
*Note: Premium Subscribers can find updated rankings for Underdog Fantasy in the content schedule here.
New Additions of Note: Jamison Crowder WR // O.J. Howard TE // Case Keenum QB // Duke Johnson RB
Departures of Note: Cole Beasley WR // Emmanuel Sanders WR // Mitch Trubisky QB
Josh Allen is set to have another incredible season. It shouldn’t surprise anyone if he ends up being the QB1 in fantasy football. He seems to get better as a passer each and every year and he offers rushing upside that very few quarterbacks possess. In fact, he finished last season with 763 rushing yards (third best) and six rushing touchdowns (second best). Getting exposure to Allen makes sense in all league formats.
Stefon Diggs led the NFL in receiving yards (1,535) in his first season with the Bills, but took a step back in 2021. He did score 10 touchdowns, but finished sixth in the league in receiving yards. He’s one of the more interesting season-long and bestball picks, as all of the buzz seems to be around Gabriel Davis. As you can see from my prop bet above, I am on board the Davis hype train as well. Both receivers have the potential to be league winners, while Jamison Crowder is more of a late-round flier.
The backfield is a situation that I plan to avoid in season-long formats. Devin Singletary showed that he’s able to handle a full workload late last season, but Zack Moss is still on the roster and the Bills brought in two more running backs. They drafted James Cook in the second round and then signed Duke Johnson. There are more questions than answers when it comes to the fantasy production of this backfield. Perhaps one will emerge later in the season and can become a viable option in DFS.
Image Credit: Imagn