Buffalo Bills Positional Needs Heading Into The Draft
The Buffalo Bills have many positional needs heading into the 2016 Draft. There are a number of positions that could be considered their most important area of need and it will be very interesting to see how General Manager Doug Whaley and the rest of the front office goes about filling those needs. Let’s analyze the roster position by position.
Offensive “Skill” Positions
Quarterback – Buffalo has their incumbent starter in Tyrod Taylor who had one of the best statistical seasons for a Bills quarterback in a while last year. Tyrod only has one year left on his contract but the Bills can always apply the franchise tag if they can’t agree to a deal with him this year. Their backup, former first-round pick E.J. Manuel, is in the last year of his contract and this will likely be his last year with the team. The Bills have already gone on the record as saying they will be looking for another quarterback in the draft. Look for them to draft one in any round except the 1st.
Running Back – It looks like LeSean McCoy is going to avoid any penalty from the NFL so if Karlos Williams can stay healthy this year the Bills will have one of the best 1-2 punches in the league at running back. Third-string running back Mike Gillislee played well while Williams and McCoy were injured last year but it wouldn’t be shocking to see Buffalo draft a running back in the 4th round of later even though it’s not a major need for the team.
Wide Receiver – Sammy Watkins has the WR1 solidified but after that, it’s Robert Woods and a plethora of other players competing for the WR2 role. Woods is definitely the favorite but he has not solidified himself in that role in the past despite a few opportunities. The Bills would prefer to have a better WR2 option and they will strongly consider drafting a wide receiver in any round if they believe that he can come in and have a chance to be their starting WR2.
Tight End – Charles Clay will be the Bills primary tight end on most plays and especially on passing downs where the tight end is a receiver. The team recently signed blocking tight end Jim Dray and they also have a few other tight ends on the roster as well. Those players are Chris Gragg, Nick O’Leary, Jacob Maxwell, and Blake Annen. The only way the Bills draft a tight end is if they believe they can find a better blocking tight end than Jim Dray.
Fullback – The Bills have way too much money invested in Jerome Felton at this position. They will not be adding any fullbacks during the draft.
Kicker – The Bills have Dan Carpenter and Jordan Gay on the roster set to compete for next year. The only way they draft a kicker is if Florida State kicker Robert Aguayo falls to them late in the draft. He has both a big leg and was very accurate in college. If the Bills draft Aguayo, they could save a roster spot by not having to carry two kickers. It’s something to think about but the Bills have many other needs as well.
What about the offensive line? What areas of need do the Bills have on that unit? Read on to find out.
Next: What About The Offensive Line?
Offensive Line
The Bills could use some help on the offensive line. Let’s examine at which positions they need the most help.
Center – One of the Bills most respected players, Eric Wood, holds down this position for the team. At 30 years old he is aging but the team still has a few years before they really need to worry about his decline. They also have recently signed guard/center Fernando Velasco and they also have Ronald Patrick on the roster at center.
Guard – The Bills starting guard spots are locked down at this moment by Richie Incognito and John Miller. Miller was a rookie last season and while he struggled at times, overall he did an admiral job in his first year. As long as he can continue to improve the Bills do not have too much to worry about here. If they think his issues last season will not go away they may look to add a guard at some point in the draft but tackle is more of a need for them on the offensive line anyway. The other two guards on the roster are Ryan Groy and Cyril Richardson.
Tackle – The Bills are extremely thin at tackle besides starting left tackle Cordy Glenn who they applied the franchise tag to this offseason. They also signed restricted free-agent Jordan Mills to a one-year deal this offseason and at this point he is the favorite to start at right tackle.
Seantrel Henderson would normally be the favorite to start but last season it was discovered that he has Crohn’s disease and it ended his season early. He is on the road to recovery but the disease caused him to lose weight and it’s uncertain what type of shape he will be in coming into training camp.
Their other tackle is Cyrus Kouandjio who has largely been a disappointment since being drafted in the second round due to chronic knee issues. If one of the top four tackles in this draft (Tunsil, Stanley, Conklin or Decker) fall to them at number 19 they should waste no time making that pick because there is too much uncertainty surrounding this position. Otherwise, they should look to add a player in one of the later rounds for depth.
Now let’s take a look at the defensive side of the ball on the next slide.
Next: What About The Defense?
Defensive Front Seven
Let’s take a look at the defensive front seven now. For defensive positions, we will write about the defensive line and linebackers as their position is listed on the team’s website even though some of the defensive line may end up playing roles more similar to that of a linebacker.
Defensive Line – The reason why we are writing about defensive line as one unit rather than discussing ends versus tackles is because the Bills have multiple options on the defensive side of the ball next season in their 3-4 base. Marcell Dareus is the favorite right now to play the typical nose tackle role in Rex Ryan’s defense with Kyle Williams the next most likely option. If the Bills draft one of the big boys at defensive tackle early on in the draft they also have the option of making that player the nose and using Williams and Dareus as ends instead. Jerry Hughes will be used effectively as a pass rusher on most downs but that will most likely be coming from a “linebacker” position. The Bills have many other players listed on their roster including tackles T.J. Barnes, Corbin Bryant, and Jerel Worthy. The other ends they have on the roster include Lavar Edwards, Manny Lawson, and Cedric Reed.
Linebacker – Linebacker is a major area of need for the Bills since it was one of their worst performing units last season. On top of that, they lost a couple of players this offseason for various reasons. The Bills opted not to extend a tender offer to Ty Powell, free agent Nigel Bradham left Buffalo and signed with the Philadelphia Eagles and would be second-year linebacker A.J. Tarpley recently retired from the NFL due to health concerns. The team did add two linebackers to the roster this offseason in Zach Brown and Lorenzo Alexander. The other linebackers on the roster are Max Valles, Jairus Wynn, Preston Brown, IK Enemkpali, Randell Johnson and Kevin Reddick. The Bills still need to add more talent in the draft if they want to improve upon last season’s poor play at the position. Look for them to add one linebacker at a minimum.
Now let’s take a look at the secondary as well as the Bills punter situation.
Next: What About The Secondary?
The Secondary & Punter
Let’s take a look at the Bills secondary first and then we’ll look at the Bills situation at punter.
Cornerback – The Bills top two cornerbacks are set and they might be the best tandem in the league. Stephon Gilmore and Ronald Darby are those players. Gilmore is a bit of a concern because he is on the last year of his deal so Buffalo could consider adding a cornerback as an insurance policy in case he leaves. Buffalo tends to draft corners every year anyway which is smart in the pass happy NFL. Their other corners include Nickell Robey who is their primary nickel corner and a few other players. The others are Mario Butler, Sterling Moore, Bud Noel, Sammy Seamster, and Corey White. The team recently released cornerback Cam Thomas.
Safety – Safety is another uncertain position for the Bills. Corey Graham will be starting as one of their safeties. He did an admiral job leading the team in tackles last season but was less effective against the pass. His performance started to drop off at the end of the season and it’s something to watch heading into 2016.
Their other projected starter, Aaron Williams, will be coming back from a neck injury and is uncertain how it will react once he starts hitting people. If Williams is unable to continue his career, safety would all of the sudden become one of the Bills top needs.
Buffalo did sign free-agent Robert Blanton but he would be a low-end starter at best and would be better in a reserve role. The other safeties on the roster include Jonathan Dowling, Jonathan Meeks, and Duke Williams. Buffalo should consider adding another player at the position during the draft as an insurance policy if Williams cannot play.
Punter – The Bills have one of the better punters in the league in Colton Schmidt. They will not be adding a punter in this year’s draft.
So that’s the recap of the roster by position heading into the draft. As you can see there are so many positions where one could make an argument that the Bills need a starter or more depth. It should be very entertaining to see how they go about the draft trying to fill all of these needs. Good thing they have eight picks this year!