The Buffalo Bills made some moves in free agency and remain in the middle of the pack in FanSided’s latest NFL power rankings.
The NFL Draft is exactly one month away, and it appears the major roster moves have died down after the initial insanity of free agency.
The Bills made several additions and subtractions, but the focus seems to be on building the team through the draft.
That is especially true with the quarterback position after the team opted to sign AJ McCarron over the other options available. McCarron isn’t a slouch, but he doesn’t inspire much confidence as a full-time starter. At least not yet.
The slew of moves throughout the past month led to FanSided putting out a new set of power rankings, written by Joe Schiller. The Bills came in at No. 17 overall:
"They didn’t have to overpay one bit, handing McCarron just $10 million over two-years. Based on the Cordy Glenn trade that moved them up to No. 12 in the first round, there’s good reason to believe a rookie quarterback will be added to the mix come April. The defense saw significant upgrades with Trent Murphy and Star Lotulelei added to the mix. I like the fit for both players, who become immediate starters."
The real move for the Bills in any power rankings won’t happen until after the draft. The team has the chance to add two top players in the first round, although that could change with a trade or two. But bringing in a top quarterback and another elite talent could set up the Bills as favorites to return to the postseason in 2018.
For now, I think No. 17 overall is a fair ranking. The team can’t go any higher until there is an answer at the most important position in all of sports.
It is easy to say that every draft is a potential turning point in franchise history, but that statement carries some actual weight after returning to the postseason. Brandon Beane can’t whiff on his top picks in 2018, but based on everything he has done so far, I wouldn’t expect that to be the case.