Buffalo Bills: 53-man roster prediction before training camp
By Jason Mattis
Special Teams
Usually not a position group that excites fans, but this one will be very competitive thanks to Beane and should draw the attention every time they are on the field.
Punter
Incumbent Corey Bojorquez will be pushed by Kaare Vedvik. Bojorquez averaged 41.9 yards per punt last year. While Vedvik hasn’t punted in the NFL, he averaged 44 yards per punt during his senior season at Marshall. Helping Vedvik’s case is the fact that in 2019 he had a 100 percent touchback rate on his kickoffs, albeit in limited opportunities. That could play a role depending on who they keep as their place kicker.
Prediction: Vedvik (1)
Kicker
The aforementioned touchback rate on kickoffs is noteworthy because incumbent Stephen Hauschka only had a 57.5 percent last year. Those are opportunities you don’t need to provide the opposing team to make a huge play against you. If you’re banging the books for Andre Roberts to make the team due to his returning ability, well, the best way to neutralize that is to bang the ball out of the back of the end zone most of the time.
Add in the fact that the Bills no longer trust Hauschka from 50 plus yards and 2020 sixth round draft pick Tyler Bass will be making a strong case to replace him. We have all heard and seen Bass’ strong right leg by now which is very appealing to the naked eye. However, its clutch kicks that Hauschka thrives at the Bills won’t be able to know if Bass can duplicate.
It will be very difficult for the Bills to invent pressure situations in practice like ones that come in real NFL games. There is also the possibility that there are no preseason games as well to test the young kids nerves. It is because of that the Bills will ultimately go with the kicker they know can come through in the clutch despite having a weaker leg at this point in his career. But Bass should stay warm because the Bills might come calling if Hauschka struggles early and is on pace for another 78.6% from field goals and 93.8% from extra points.
Prediction: Hauschka (1)
Monday Morning Charge: Rookies set to report to training camp. dark. Next
Long Snapper
Case closed, it’s Reid Ferguson (1).
The competition this summer for the Buffalo Bills expects to be fierce as guys jockey for roster spots. Credit Beane and the roster building as this is a great problem to have. Perhaps those cut can still benefit the team as Beane looks to flip them for draft picks before placing them on waivers.