The Buffalo Bills employ the second-highest-paid fullback in the NFL in Patrick DiMarco. His role in the offense has declined every year since he signed a deal with the Bills during the 2017 offseason. The way the NFL has changed, especially offensively over the past 10-15 years, current offensive formations have relegated the fullback position to an afterthought. DiMarco clearly represents a once-favored asset completely out of his element in the current state of the league.
Over the course of all 16 games, DiMarco played in every single one of them. He was still only on the field for 15.9% of the Bills’ offensive snaps. Very rarely do we see a team line up in an I-Formation—the most likely scenario to find DiMarco on the field. If he was more versatile, he could line up as an H-back, but his lack of athleticism and pass-catching ability wouldn’t make him very effective in those situations.
DiMarco is the second-highest-paid fullback in the NFL next to San Francisco 49ers fullback Kyle Juszczyk, and DiMarco’s 2018 salary-cap hit was $2.1 million. That amount of money isn’t breaking the bank by any means, but his lack of downs played throughout the season and his limited versatility makes his contract the third-worst value on the Bills during the 2018 season.