Buffalo Bills roster holes: Areas of need after the 2018 NFL Draft
By Dennis Moody
The Buffalo Bills roster holes couldn’t all be filled during the 2018 NFL Draft. The following four positions are their biggest needs post-draft.
Despite trading away quality draft picks to move up twice in the first round, the Buffalo Bills were able to address many of their needs including taking Josh Allen, a potential franchise quarterback in the 2018 NFL Draft.
The jury won’t be out on Allen for many years but for the sake of this exercise, the quarterback hole will be considered filled in the sense that Buffalo won’t be looking to add significantly to the position until they know what they have in Allen. The same cannot be said for many of the other positions that could still use more depth so let’s start first with the offense and then finish with the defense in examining the Bills four biggest roster needs.
The Buffalo Bills need more depth on the offensive line
There’s been a lot of turnover on the Bills offensive line. Both Richie Incognito and Eric Wood retired and the Bills traded left tackle Cordy Glenn to the Bengals prior to the draft. Incognito has since indicated he wants to play again so the Bills released him so that he can pursue a contract with another team.
All were starters for the unit Week 1 last season although Glenn became expendable when Dion Dawkins filled in at left tackle and showed he could handle the job admirably. Notwithstanding the departures of those three veterans, it seems like the coaching staff believes they have enough talent on the line to get through this season although I’d beg to differ. There are many possible starting lineups one could project, but I believe the most likely starting five are:
LT: Dion Dawkins
LG: John Miller
RG: Ryan Groy
RT: Jordan Mills
At tackle, the most likely candidates to push for a starting role besides Mills and Dawkins are Marshall Newhouse, Conor McDermott and Gerhard de Beer. At guard, expect Vladimir Ducasse and Wyatt Teller to also have a shot at first-team reps if Ryan Groy or John Miller fail to impress.
Despite having many options, the situation could end up very bleak for Buffalo. Ducasse, Mills and Miller have all been highly inconsistent for the team. Bodine started four years for the Bengals at center but you don’t find too many Bengals fans who miss him. The majority of Groy’s starts in the NFL have come at center for the injured Eric Wood. Groy could end up winning the starting center job, but he is more likely to slide in at guard unless rookie Wyatt Teller impresses in the preseason.
That leaves Dion Dawkins as the only known commodity on the line and he has only one year of experience in the league. The Bills depth on offensive line features younger guys with potential and some veterans with some clear flaws in their game. They might be able to get by if everyone remains healthy but if they need to rely on their depth to start at any point this year, their quarterback isn’t going to finish many games with a clean jersey or a smile on his face.