With having experienced very little roster turnover during the offseason, the Buffalo Bills should be more likely to start off faster than other teams.
Continuity is usually an overused term by many coaches and management, with full offseasons and preseason, teams can make new players feel right at home. This year is different, with OTAs, mini camps and the rookie camp being missed due to the pandemic, new arrivals are going to have a tougher time adapting to their new team but shouldn’t be as much of an issue for the Buffalo Bills.
While some of these programs moved online, players will be able to get to know each other but not develop chemistry on the actual playing field. This is a look at how continuity is going to be a competitive advantage for the Buffalo Bills this year.
Offense
The Buffalo Bills are returning all but one starter on the offensive side of the ball. According to ESPN, the Bills lead all of the NFL with 95.4% of their snaps coming back on offense, which ranks first in the whole league.
The one change that is being made is arguably the biggest move of the whole NFL offseason for the Bills when Buffalo acquired Stefon Diggs from the Minnesota Vikings. This move will only help the Bills as Diggs takes over for rotational receivers Isaiah McKenzie and Duke Williams, where the improvement is substantial.
With all the great chemistry on offense, the Buffalo Bills still have been working together in Florida and California with basically the whole offense minus some offensive lineman. These workouts were put together by Josh Allen in an attempt to get some valuable reps in.
Two rookies, Gabriel Davis (fourth-round pick) and Isaiah Hodgins (sixth-round pick) have been getting reps with Allen through these Florida workouts, but the good news is the Bills will not be forced to rely on them heavily early on in the season. Running backs have shown an ability to step in and play, so there shouldn’t be as much concern about Zack Moss’s ability to contribute from his backup role.
The return of the whole offensive line is a huge breath of fresh air for a unit that typically experienced a lot of turnover over the last few offseason’s. The Bills offensive line from 2018 was abysmal and is hard to believe how much better off the team is now than it was then. That starting lineup included Cordy Glenn, who was eventually replaced by rookie Dion Dawkins, Vlad Ducasse, Russell Bodine, John Miller and Jordan Mills.
With Dion Dawkins the only person from the 2018 Bills offensive line starting in 2020, it’s clear to see how much better a situation the Bills are in now.
Defense
The Buffalo Bills brought in a number of players on the defensive side of the ball, but only one proposed change in terms of starters.
The Bills lost two main pieces of their defensive line in Jordan Phillips and Shaq Lawson, with Phillips starting nine games and Lawson playing a crucial role in terms of snaps.
Coming in at seventh on ESPN’s continuity rankings on defense with having 80.4% of their snaps on defense returning. Despite losing the same amount of starters as the offense (1), the lost a significant amount more in terms of snaps, due to the losses of Phillips, Lawson and depth cornerback Kevin Johnson.
With new additions of Mario Addison, Quinton Jefferson and Vernon Butler through free agency, there is continuity between Addison and Butler with many of the Bills coaching staff.
McDermott was the Panthers defensive coordinator while Addison played on the Panthers from 2012-2016. As for Butler, he played just one season under McDermott in 2016 but the familiarity should be there with coach, and the scheme should be familiar. Both have experience under new defensive line coach Eric Washington who was the defensive coordinator and defensive line coach during their tenures with Carolina.
As for Jefferson, he is new and has no prior relations to the staff, but is a veteran of four years so should be able to adapt even in this extraordinary offseason.
While A.J. Epenesa was drafted in the second round and is expected to play a rotational role to start off his season. Buffalo’s depth gives them the opportunity to ease him into the position.
Once again the Bills leaned on former players with another one of their free agent signings with Josh Norman, who has been an All-Pro in a Sean McDermott defense before.
League Best Continuity
The Buffalo Bills lead the NFL in ESPN continuity rankings, with gaining 88.0% of last seasons snaps returning to the fold.
The Bills edged out the defending Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chefs by close to 4 percent. The hope is their league continuity will help, especially with the problems that the pandemic has caused for teams looking to build chemistry.
Brandon Beane loves continuity even in a normal offseason, but his way of working might impact the Bills in a far greater way when a global pandemic will have some teams having to build chemistry in uncertain times.