A recent FanSided article went through and selected the top under-the-radar signings for all 32 NFL teams. The choice for the Buffalo Bills is a smart one.
I wrote an article earlier today looking at the top five offseason additions who will have immediate impacts for the Buffalo Bills in 2018. These were players who were brought to town with some fanfare, but they do not represent all the additions.
An article on FanSided, written by Russell S. Baxter, went through all 32 NFL teams to find that one player on each team who flew under the radar this offseason, but who will still be valuable in 2018.
For the Bills he chose Russell Bodine. Here is some of what Baxter had to say:
"While the Bills wound up dealing Glenn to the team in the Queen City, they also grabbed one of the Bengals’ more reliable blockers in the process via free agency. Former University of North Carolina alum Russell Bodine is the replacement at the pivot in place of Wood. But he’s going to have to improve on his 2017 performance, one that saw his numbers (via Pro Football Focus) slip dramatically."
Bodine started all 64 games for the Bengals in his four years in town and is projected to emerge as the starting center in Buffalo. He has some big shoes to fill now that Eric Wood is gone, but at least the Bills are adding someone with starting experience as opposed to throwing a rookie into the role.
Signing any center rarely brings a lot of excitement from fans, and that remained true with Bodine. The best thing he can do is stay out of the headlines, meaning he is doing his job well. If he ends up struggling, it will impact the play of the entire offense and would be of no help to whichever inexperienced quarterback wins the job in training camp.
Next: 5 new additions who will make an immediate impact
But for now, the signing looks like a smart one. As with every move made by the front office this offseason, it remains hard to assign accurate grades until the new players actually play some football for the team.