Buffalo Bills

Nyheim Hines latest candidate in Bills’ long search for RB playmakers

Updated Nov. 3, 2022 3:31 p.m. ET

If this is the NFL era when running backs don't matter, then the Buffalo Bills didn't get the memo.

They have continued their search for backfield weapons by sinking more and more draft capital into the position, including their most recent acquisition at the Tuesday trade deadline.

The Bills traded running back Zack Moss and a conditional 2023 sixth-round pick to the Colts for Nyheim Hines, a pass-catching back who finished with 40 or more catches in each of his four previous seasons and 60 or more catches in two of those seasons. He has 25 catches so far this year.

General manager Brandon Beane said the Bills were in conversations with the Panthers about Christian McCaffrey but the cost rose too high. Beane's staff also looked into Alvin Kamara, but reportedly never heard back from New Orleans about whether the running back was available.

The Hines trade is a small-ball move that makes plenty of sense for Buffalo.

"He's a guy we liked through the draft process all the way back in 2018," Beane said Wednesday. "Obviously, we've seen him up close. [He] made some big plays in the playoff game against us. He's more of a guy that's just a weapon with the ball in his hands, whether it's as a punt returner, kick returner, as a receiver. He runs jet sweeps. He runs the wildcat. We just felt this was a chance to add another [player] that Ken Dorsey, Josh [Allen] and the crew can use as just another offensive piece."

Beane said the Bills tried trading for Hines twice before — first in training camp in 2019 and then again last offseason.

Certainly, Hines fills a need for Buffalo that Moss struggled to fill. The Bills had resorted, at times, to using Moss as a pass-catcher when his more natural role is that of a between-the-tackles bruiser. His odd usage demonstrated that Moss' place in the offense — given his skill-set — didn't make sense anymore. That's why this swap helps the Bills in a big way. They replace their bruiser (Moss) with a speedy pass-catcher (Hines).

"One play, me and Stef [Diggs] looked at each other like, ‘Holy crap, this guy is fast,'" Allen said Wednesday. "He's smart, he's already learning some of the plays, and our system is not easy to learn. There's still a lot of work there, but as far as what he can give this offense, it's fun to have a piece like that."

Hines should end up being an ideal player for the passing-centric offense, with Buffalo likely to use him often in a three-headed attack with Devin Singletary and James Cook.

It's wild that, even after trading one of their running backs, the Bills still have three viable options at the position. That's both a good and a bad thing. On one hand, they have no shortage of options. On the other, they still don't have the guy at running back.

The Hines trade comes just a few months after the Bills selected Cook at 63rd overall in the 2022 NFL Draft. Buffalo took running back Moss in the third round in 2020 and Singletary in 2019 for a third-rounder. That's a lot of premium picks.

This offseason, Cook seemed like the complement to Singletary. The rookie was lighter, faster and seemingly more capable of taking on a substantial role in the passing game. But that hasn't come to fruition — yet.

Beane indicated Hines and Cook won't eat into the other's workload.

"This shouldn't affect James at all," Beane said. "There could be multiple packages where James and Nyheim are in the game at the same time."

It bears monitoring whether the Bills can accommodate all three players in their offense, especially given that the quarterback often leads the team in carries. Allen has a propensity to generate yardage as a runner, and — though he's extremely effective — the Bills probably want him to do that less often for the sake of his health. So adding a checkdown option like Hines could help Allen avoid hits.

But will Hines interfere with Cook's development? That remains to be seen.

Hines is on a contract that extends through the 2024 season — though the team can cut him this offseason without taking on any dead money. He could be rental and he could be a long-term solution at the position. Singletary's contract expires at the end of this year and Cook, of course, is slated to stick with the team through 2025.

For a team that continually commits assets to its running back spot, the Bills are surprisingly mediocre at the position — and their plan at the position looks uncertain. In 2023, they're slated to have Hines and Cook, a pair of small and explosive backs who have a lot of the same skills and uses. It's almost a foil to 2021, when the Bills had Moss and Singletary, a pair of power runners who had redundant skill-sets.

But Buffalo isn't concerned with 2023 — not yet. The Bills are trying to win a Super Bowl this season. If they have created a very small problem at running back in 2023, then so be it. Maybe Beane hasn't been perfect managing the running back situation — maybe he is overinvested. But if Hines helps the Bills win a Super Bowl, none of that will matter.

Prior to joining FOX Sports as the AFC East reporter, Henry McKenna spent seven years covering the Patriots for USA TODAY Sports Media Group and Boston Globe Media. Follow him on Twitter at @McKennAnalysis.