2014 Season Expectations: The Offensive Line
Offensive Line, the position that does the most work and gets the least credit on a professional football team. Instead of doing individual expectations, as there are no official stats it is better to do them as a collective unit breaking them down player by player in a single article in who will make the team. In 2013, the Buffalo Bills offensive line was a collective pain to all if their fans
Cordy Glenn is an absolute mountain of a man standing at 6-foot-6 and weighing in at 343 pounds and playing left tackle and will continue to become elite protecting E.J. Manuel‘s blindside and is the second most vital person on this offensive line.
Chris Williams, a newcomer to the team and as of now will be slated to start at left guard while he didn’t pan out for the Chicago Bears or the St. Louis Rams. While he isn’t the most tenacious blocker despite being 6-foot-6 and 322 pounds; however if the Bills run as many screens as they did last year, the running backs will be gaining a lot of yards through the air.
Eric Wood standing in at 6-foot-4 and weighing in at 310 pounds and is the heart and soul of the offense who is at the most important position on the offensive line, when healthy he is as good as any center in the NFL. If Wood finishes another complete season in 2014, he should be in the discussion with Alex Mack and Nick Mangold in the top 3 centers in the league.
Kraig Urbik is a big strong right guard standing at 6-foot-5 and weighing 324 pounds who will continue to be the team’s hellacious run blocker in 2014, so expect the run game to keep on being fed to the strong side of the offensive line.
Cyrus Kouandjiois a rookie right tackle that will support Urbik in the run game as he is a violent blocker who isn’t afraid of contact with defenders to say the least. Kouandjio is a tower of a man as well as he stands 6-foot-7 and weighs 322 pounds and will make defenders sore for days after they line up across from him with his long arms.
Cyril Richardson is the second of three rookie draft picks on the offensive line of the Bills who will make this roster and provide solid depth as he can play either guard position and might get some solid playing time. Standing at 6-foot-5 and weighing in at 340 pounds he will impose his will on interior defensive linemen.
Seantrel Henderson is the last of the three rookie offensive line picks and he is the biggest standing at 6-foot-8 and weighing 345 pounds and has also the biggest upside of the three. Henderson was the top recruit going into college back in 2009, but never had his a-ha moment; however if this happens under coach Doug Marrone, the Bills might have one of the biggest (pun intended) steals of the 2014 NFL Draft.
Chris Hairston is one of the more veteran members of this offensive line who can play either tackle position and looks to be 100 percent after missing 2013 with an undisclosed back injury. If he can bounce back completely he will provide solid depth for the team.
Doug Legursky easily the smallest lineman on the team, however his versatility between playing center and guard might ensure him a spot on this offensive line, and with an injury history like Eric Wood it is vital to have a player who can snap the ball with regular success and Legursky is that guy.
All and all, the classic question from the 1980s was: “Where’s the beef?” and my answer is check out the Bills offensive line as they are clearly the largest collective unit in the NFL. How do you think these nine guys will do in 2014? Did I leave someone off the list? Like this, share it with friends on twitter and leave a comment below and let’s discuss this more!