Buffalo Bills: Sean McDermott not ready to declare winners in position battles

While some believe that the starting lineup for both the offense and defense is pretty clear, myself included, Buffalo Bills head coach Sean McDermott is not ready to declare winners. The two places that seemingly are still up for grabs are on the offensive line and at cornerback.

While this could just be a way to keep the players motivated with still over 10 days left before the first regular season game, it is worth taking a closer look at both positions and what the potential outcomes could be.

Buffalo Bills Starting Cornerback

The battle between Levi Wallace and Dane Jackson has been well-noted due in large part because this seemed to be one of the more open competitions. There really didn’t seem to be a favorite entering camp even though Wallace has been the starter for most of the past two seasons.

However, it hasn’t seemed like this has been much of a competition as Wallace has been the more consistent of the two while Jackson has been a little more up and down. On Thursday, McDermott seemed to hint at the fact that he knows who will be the starter but wasn’t ready to declare it.

As Ashley Holder tweeted, McDermott said competition is good and this could be a way to keep whoever is the winner motivated through to the regular season to hold onto that starting job. At this point, it would be surprising that Levi Wallace isn’t the starter but it is worth something to watch over the next week.

Buffalo Bills Offensive Line

The more surprising comment about the starters was on the offensive line, which seemed like it was one that is now set in place. As Chris Brown tweeted, McDermott doesn’t share that same sentiment.

This could be a similar situation to the cornerback position where players need to earn their spot everyday. When looking at the offensive line, it would be safe to assume that three positions are set with Dion Dawkins at left tackle, Mitch Morse at center, and Daryl Williams at right tackle.

The place there could be some shuffling though is at the two guard spots. Last year, Jon Feliciano was primarily a right guard but this preseason and training camp he has been almost exclusively on the left side.

This has left a battle at right guard between Cody Ford and Ike Boettger with Ford playing very well during the preseason. That was one of the reasons that the offensive line seemed to be set with Ford at right guard.

Once again this could just be another way that Sean McDermott keeps his players motivated heading into the season but until the starters are officially announced, it is something to pay attention to.