With the draft two weeks away, the “Scouting Spotlight” will serve as a highlight of five individual players from possible positions of need that the Buffalo Bills could look to address over the course of the 2020 NFL Draft.
The 2020 NFL Free Agency waves have come and gone. The Bills made a multitude of moves to shore up their offensive and defensive lines to go with cornerback as well. We must not forget the blockbuster trade for star wide receiver Stefon Diggs. General manager Brandon Beane has looked to address every hole on the roster. The last hole that still appears to be glaring is a complementary running back to pair with Devin Singletary. Could Utah RB Zack Moss fill that role and more?
Scouting Report
Moss spent four seasons at Utah combining over 4,000 yards rushing and 38 touchdowns. Moss is the cousin of former University of Miami and NFL-great wide receiver Santana Moss. Zach Moss was the 2019 Pac-12 Offensive Player of the Year and an All-American performer. He is the most accomplished running back in Utah football history.
Strengths
- Good-looking build for the position with a strong lower and upper half
- He sees the field very well behind the line; he will hit obvious holes with burst as well as looking for obvious cutback lanes to find a seam
- His contact balance is unbelievable; PAC-12 football players consistently bounced off of him
- It takes the whole team to bring him down at times; he has a strong will to gain every last yard
- Has a spin move that is hard to anticipate that shakes defenders off of him
- Has some experience catching the ball with a limited route tree
Weaknesses
- He has an upright running style with locked hips that cause him to run tight
- Lacks initial juice as a runner that causes run lanes to close quicker for him than the normal back
- He needs gather steps to effectively cut to where he is trying to navigate
- He lacks long speed on film and ran a 4.65 official 40-yard dash at the NFL Combine
- He has some odd tendencies to bounce himself out of wide-open holes
- Pass protection is a work in progress; he needs to sink his hips and set his base better
- Not the most natural pass catcher; has some tendency to fight the ball into his hands
Overall
Moss is an unusually strong back who consistently won with his combination of vision and contact balance in college. His strong vision and contact balance was forced to make up for his lack of explosion and long speed in the open field. Moss will have to carve out a role as a complementary back at the next level because of his play style that involves consistent and violent contact on a play-by-play basis. Moss plays best between the tackles where he can make headway and bully his way for yards at the next level.
Draft Projection: Round 4/Round 5
Why He Fits the Bills
The Bills clearly have not had a hankering for a speedy back in the past drafting Devin Singletary and signing the likes of Frank Gore and Mike Tolbert to be significant contributors to an offense; none of which are considered to be speed-demon backs by any stretch. Moss is no speed demon but he brings the kind of “thud” that the Bills have consistently looked for out of their #2 RB. Moss fits what the Bills will be looking to do in short yardage situations and as a guy to take some of the load off of Singletary. Moss would likely be a target early on Day 3 for the Bills if they so choose to select players at more “premium” positions on Day 2.