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.
The Buffalo Bills could use more talent at wide receiver
Of the 90 members on the Bills active roster, 13 of them are wide receivers. The issue for Buffalo is that most of these players are primarily on the roster for special teams rather than what they can do in the passing game.
As of now, Kelvin Benjamin will be the Bills primary target. While not an ideal No. 1 receiver, he is capable and will leverage his size and wingspan to help win many 50-50 balls. Zay Jones hopes to have a better sophomore season after a tough rookie year in which he was playing with a torn labrum. Between his rookie struggles, his injury and a wacky offseason incident, fans are left with more questions than answers when it comes to whether he can meaningfully contribute to this team as their No. 2 WR.
Jeremy Kerley, Rod Streater, Brandon Reilly and Andre Holmes will be the top contenders for the No. 3 spot with Kerley the favorite for the slot role. Late-round rookies Ray-Ray McCloud and Austin Proehl will also be given a chance to show what they can do.
A group of Benjamin (No. 1), Jones (No. 2), Kerley (in the slot) and Rod Streater (for speed) as the Bills primary receivers is underwhelming at best and none of them outside of Benjamin creates a difficult matchup for opponents. The Bills need to add more talent to this position if they want to give Josh Allen the best chance for success when they are ready to hand over the reins to him.
The Buffalo Bills need to add more depth and athleticism to their linebacker unit
Buffalo traded up to No. 16 overall to select Tremaine Edmunds, one of the elite physical talents in the draft at linebacker but were unable to plug all their holes at the position. Relying on a 20-year-old who is still growing into his own body as your middle linebacker will come with its up and downs but at least the Bills have a top-notch athlete in that role now. He’s intelligent and should learn quickly on the job. By the end of the season, expect Edmunds to be making many more spectacular plays than rookie mistakes on Sundays.
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The Bills other two starters should be Matt Milano on the weakside and Lorenzo Alexander on the strongside. Both were solid contributors last season for the team.
Milano played above expectations for a fifth-round pick and he should only improve upon that this year. He’s a good player with tremendous heart but he lacks top-tier athletic ability which is ideal for linebackers in Sean McDermott‘s defensive scheme.
Alexander has proven he can still get it done on the field from many positions, but at some point, father time will catch up with the soon to be 35-year-old and the Bills will need someone else to play meaningful snaps.
Milano and Alexander are suitable starters, but neither of them possesses top-end athletic ability and their backups are no better. Buffalo will be in trouble should they need to rely on Tanner Vallejo or Ramon Humber for considerable snaps this season.
Next year in the offseason, it wouldn’t be shocking to see the Bills go after a top free agent linebacker when they will have plenty of salary cap space to make a splash.
The Bills will need to potentially find one or two starters at cornerback next year
Buffalo’s secondary is probably their strongest overall position group so how could cornerback be one of the Bills top needs? The answer is that despite Tre’Davious White’s breakout rookie campaign, the Bills have question marks at the other two cornerback slots. Vontae Davis, who is coming off a season-ending surgery in November, signed a one-year contract with Buffalo.
This could be Davis’ only year with the team because if he’s healthy and plays well for the Bills, he might be too expensive, similar to how they let E.J. Gaines walk this past year after solid production.
The Bills have question marks when it comes to the nickel corner position as well. Currently, it looks like Phillip Gaines and fourth-round pick Taron Johnson will duke it out for the starting role. Neither option is that exciting as Gaines’ rating by Pro Football Focus last season was horrible and Johnson is an unproven draft pick taken in the middle rounds.
Even in the best case scenario that Vontae Davis plays great and Taron Johnson plays well enough in the nickel role to start on the outside next year, they will still need to find a starting nickel corner in 2019 if they don’t re-sign Davis.
In the worst-case scenario where neither Davis, Phillips or Johnson pans out, the Bills opponents will be able to pick apart their weak spots in the secondary on the right side and in the slot position, making for some very long days on defense.
The good news is Sean McDermott and Brandon Beane proved last year that they can identify talent in the secondary that was overlooked by other front offices. The bad news is it would be an incredible trick to pull off for a second consecutive season.
Next: Predicting the 2018 Buffalo Bills 53-man roster
In spite of these four holes, the team has done a good job of solidifying key positions on the roster with relatively low-cost free agent signings and smart draft picks. It’s nearly impossible for a franchise to address all of their weaknesses in one offseason but Brandon Beane and his staff deserve credit for a job well done so far.