3 Reasons to love the Buffalo Bills’ signing of Taylor Rapp
By Joe Cook
Reason 2: Rapp brings versatility and the ability for a different defensive alignment
While mainly a safety, Rapp is a jack-of-all-trades defensive back. He’s played free safety, in the slot, and as an in-the-box linebacker for the Rams. A swiss army knife-like player, which just so happens to be the exact type of player the Buffalo Bills love. While mentioned earlier as a top-depth guy, Rapp has the talent that will likely make the team want to get him on the field in some capacity.
Being able to move him around is going to be another leisure for McDermott, who is known to get the most out of defensive backs. With no clear replacement for Tremaine Edmunds as of right now, it could open up more of an avenue for Rapp to get on the field. If the Bills fill the role with a more traditional run-stopping linebacker, Rapp could slot in next to Matt Milano in pass coverage packages and obvious passing downs.
Since Taron Johnson evolved into one of the best slot cornerbacks in the league; it forced the Bills to switch to a base nickel defense. With so much talent on the back end of their defense, we could see a dime look mixed in, with Rapp as the third safety.
The Bills’ defense will be allowed to attack teams in different ways and have the ability to gameplan with more flexibility.