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7 position battles worth following during Bills OTAs


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https://www.buffalobills.com/news/7-position-battles-worth-following-during-bills-otas

 

They’ve got two more weeks of OTAs, one week of mandatory minicamp, and then, of course, a month of training camp to sort through the candidates.

What follows is one man’s view of Buffalo’s major roster battles and how they might shake out:

 

(because so much has been discussed on this)

What’s at stake: Reserve receiver spots

Candidates to watch right now:Andre Roberts, Isaiah McKenzie, Duke Williams

 

But for argument’s sake, let’s assume top four wide receivers are Zay Jones, John Brown, Cole Beasley, and Robert Foster.

Veteran Andre Roberts return work is likely to give him a leg up on a fifth wide receiver spot on the roster. CFL import Duke Williams size (6-3, 225) makes him an attractive option as the Bills look line up with a mix of options at the position. Isaiah McKenzie’s speed is an asset. He played in the final seven games of Buffalo’s 2018 season with one start.

This position battle should be fun to follow.

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I think it is Duke Williams (6'3") vs Jason Croom (6'5").  Both are tall WRs with Croom moved to TE.

 

Duke Williams now has reputation as a good blocker now.  His draft profile called him a poor blocker but he has worked on that a lot in CFL.

Croom is learning to block as transition to TE.

 

Both have experience with Williams getting his 18 games of experience in CFL and Croom getting 15 games of experience (3 starting) with Bills.

 

 

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O Line.

For now, free agent acquisition Spencer Long is working with the first unit at left guard and that may stick. Dion Dawkins, the starter at left tackle the last two years, is with the ones there again so far. Another free agent, Ty Nsekhe, has been lining up with the starters at right tackle. He’s backed up at that spot by second round draft pick Cody Ford.

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5 minutes ago, ShadyBillsFan said:

O Line.

For now, free agent acquisition Spencer Long is working with the first unit at left guard and that may stick. Dion Dawkins, the starter at left tackle the last two years, is with the ones there again so far. Another free agent, Ty Nsekhe, has been lining up with the starters at right tackle. He’s backed up at that spot by second round draft pick Cody Ford.

 

The only real lock is at center. The rest is a bunch of (promising) moveable parts. I hope they figure it out quickly so they have time to gel together. 

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16 minutes ago, ShadyBillsFan said:

O Line.

For now, free agent acquisition Spencer Long is working with the first unit at left guard and that may stick. Dion Dawkins, the starter at left tackle the last two years, is with the ones there again so far. Another free agent, Ty Nsekhe, has been lining up with the starters at right tackle. He’s backed up at that spot by second round draft pick Cody Ford.


Spencer Long working as a starting guard is extremely telling to me. I envisioned the staff preferring that he be the swing backup to all three interior spots. Knowing that they like him enough to ensure that he gets some starting LG reps this early -- even though Morse and Bodine aren't on the field -- tells me that they believe he can start at guard for the Bills. I agree with them. I'm high on Long's potential to return to his pre-Jets form, when he was an above average guard for Washington. 

I'm also intrigued that they have Spain working at RG. He has, if I'm not mistaken, been a left guard his entire career.

If Long, Spain, and Ford all win starting roles and perform well, the Bills will have fixed the offensive line in just one offseason. Here's hoping.

Edited by Logic
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11 minutes ago, Brian3488 said:

So dawkins, Long, Morse, Spain and Nsekhe are the 1st unit as of now? Curious to see if ford wins a battle to start.

 

I’m curious as well 

 

10 minutes ago, Augie said:

 

The only real lock is at center. The rest is a bunch of (promising) moveable parts. I hope they figure it out quickly so they have time to gel together. 

 

Yeah the sooner the better. 

 

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37 minutes ago, ShadyBillsFan said:

O Line.

For now, free agent acquisition Spencer Long is working with the first unit at left guard and that may stick. Dion Dawkins, the starter at left tackle the last two years, is with the ones there again so far. Another free agent, Ty Nsekhe, has been lining up with the starters at right tackle. He’s backed up at that spot by second round draft pick Cody Ford.

I have to agree with this. The Oline will be very interesting to see how it unfolds. I believe Ford will earn a spot starting when it's all said and done. The others besides Morse of course will most likely be battling it out.

 

Either way the Oline should definitely be better this time around and will open up a bunch of plays for the rest of the offense.

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38 minutes ago, Logic said:


Spencer Long working as a starting guard is extremely telling to me. I envisioned the staff preferring that he be the swing backup to all three interior spots. Knowing that they like him enough to ensure that he gets some starting LG reps this early -- even though Morse and Bodine aren't on the field -- tells me that they believe he can start at guard for the Bills. I agree with them. I'm high on Long's potential to return to his pre-Jets form, when he was an above average guard for Washington. 

I'm also intrigued that they have Spain working at RG. He has, if I'm not mistaken, been a left guard his entire career.

If Long, Spain, and Ford all win starting roles and perform well, the Bills will have fixed the offensive line in just one offseason. Here's hoping.

I think your analysis is right on. The thing that I find most encouraging is that they seem to have found more than five starting caliber linemen.  This should not only fix the line but also provide capable injury replacements.  

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2 hours ago, ShadyBillsFan said:

https://www.buffalobills.com/news/7-position-battles-worth-following-during-bills-otas

 

They’ve got two more weeks of OTAs, one week of mandatory minicamp, and then, of course, a month of training camp to sort through the candidates.

What follows is one man’s view of Buffalo’s major roster battles and how they might shake out:

 

(because so much has been discussed on this)

What’s at stake: Reserve receiver spots

Candidates to watch right now:Andre Roberts, Isaiah McKenzie, Duke Williams

 

But for argument’s sake, let’s assume top four wide receivers are Zay Jones, John Brown, Cole Beasley, and Robert Foster.

Veteran Andre Roberts return work is likely to give him a leg up on a fifth wide receiver spot on the roster. CFL import Duke Williams size (6-3, 225) makes him an attractive option as the Bills look line up with a mix of options at the position. Isaiah McKenzie’s speed is an asset. He played in the final seven games of Buffalo’s 2018 season with one start.

This position battle should be fun to follow.

 

....when is the LAST time we had this level of talent potentially FIGHTING for positional spots, with probably some talented football players in the final 37 cuts?.....I'm probably having yet ANOTHER senior moment....DAMMIT..............

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2 hours ago, Limeaid said:

I think it is Duke Williams (6'3") vs Jason Croom (6'5").  Both are tall WRs with Croom moved to TE.

 

Duke Williams now has reputation as a good blocker now.  His draft profile called him a poor blocker but he has worked on that a lot in CFL.

Croom is learning to block as transition to TE.

 

Both have experience with Williams getting his 18 games of experience in CFL and Croom getting 15 games of experience (3 starting) with Bills.

 

 

Williams better start dating the other Pegula daughter.

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