Buffalo Bills Offensive Triplet Receives High Ranking

NFL.com has released their ratings for each team’s QB-RB-WR trio. How high did the Buffalo Bills offensive triplet rank?

Going back a few months, June 15th to be exact, ESPN’s Bill Barnwell ranked each NFL team’s QB-RB-WR trio. In this case, he ranked the Buffalo Bills offensive triplet — consisting of Tyrod Taylor, LeSean McCoy and Sammy Watkins — a seemingly low 21 out of 32.

Here’s the outtake from his analysis of the decision:

"“What the Bills and offensive coordinator Greg Roman did last year — turn a replacement-level veteran option like Taylor into a productive starting quarterback — virtually never happens and was one of the more astounding things to happen in the NFL in 2015. Outside of injury, there’s no real reason to think that Taylor won’t be able to maintain that level of performance. If his production was fluky or the product of a gimmicky offense, we would have expected him to decline as the season went along, but that wasn’t the case. Taylor posted a 65.7 Total QBR over his first seven starts and actually upped that to a 69.4 QBR over his final seven. The Bills’ major concern at this point is Watkins, who is out indefinitely after undergoing foot surgery.”"

Noted that this was released well before training camp started, more specifically a day after the Bills’ finished their mandatory minicamp, it’s a rather strange choice. Of course, injuries were a problem last season, but this trio still performed very efficiently injured — especially towards the end of the season.

On August 3rd, a second report came out that outlined the same topic. This time, however, it was written by NFL.com’s Dave Dameshek. His report, which turned out to be the exact opposite in regards to the Bills, ranked the team at No. 5 — the number Tyrod Taylor wears every Sunday.

Here’s the outtake of his decision:

"“In case you’ve forgotten, most of the experts once strongly believed Watkins, drafted fourth overall in 2014, was better at playing football than Odell Beckham Jr., who was drafted 12th overall. That said, this isn’t Sam Bowie over Michael Jordan in ’84 (at least as long as Watkins’ foot is fully healed from surgery): Watkins took a back seat to no one in the second half of 2015, thanks in part to having one of the NFL’s best deep-ball passers in Taylor, who himself was equal parts dynamic and efficient in his first go-’round as a starter (99.4 passer rating, 20 TDs, 6 INTs, 568 rushing yards in 14 games). Shady is still one of the better runners around — and among the prettiest to watch ever — but the injuries are a drag.”"

His analysis seems to give more leeway to the talent these three have and is much more accurate than ESPN’s report, but only if the three stay healthy. It’s also important to note that the chemistry between the three will increase efficiency on the field, as well as the increased chemistry between the offensive line. This will give Taylor and Shady more time in the backfield, ultimately giving the receivers more time as well.

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In case you wondering who was picked ahead of the Bills in NFL.com’s report, they are as follows:

4. Arizona Cardinals (Carson Palmer, David Johnson, Larry Fitzgerald)

3. Pittsburgh Steelers ( Ben Roethlisberger, DeAngelo Williams, Antonio Brown)

Dameshek noted that the Steelers would sit at No. 1 with Le’Veon Bell as their RB, who is facing a suspension at the beginning of the season. 

2. Green Bay Packers (Aaron Rodgers, Eddie Lacy, Jordy Nelson)

1. Dallas Cowboys (Tony Romo, Ezekiel Elliott, Dez Bryant)

Well, there you have it. Do you agree with ESPN’s No. 21 ranking or NFL.com’s No. 5 ranking of the Buffalo Bills offensive triplet? OR do you think they are somewhere in-between? Leave your comments below!