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Buffalo Bills: A potential breakout rookie in 2019

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HOUSE

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Image result for Vosean Joseph

 

The Buffalo Bills made it a point to build through the NFL Draft. One late-round pick could do big things during the 2019 season.

It is easy for Buffalo Bills fans to only look at the top of a draft class to determine the success or failure of a group for any given year.

Yet players like Robert Foster, Levi Wallace and Matt Milano show that being taken late or not at all doesn’t prevent a successful NFL career from taking place.

Gary Davenport of Bleacher Report recently posted an article looking at a potential rookie gem on every NFL team. This includes players who weren’t taken at the top of the draft, yet who could still end up doing great things.

His choice for the Bills is fifth-round pick Vosean Joseph. From the article:

However, Buffalo may be a best-case landing spot for the former Florida standout. With young stud Tremaine Edmunds in the middle, the weak-side linebacker in Buffalo is free to roam and attack the ball. And while Matt Milano is a capable veteran linebacker, he doesn’t have Joseph’s wheels. If Joseph is a quick study in his new home, he could push Milano for snaps. And if the 6’1″, 230-pounder can come close to realizing his potential, he’ll be one of Day 3’s biggest steals.

 

The key part of that excerpt is the part about Joseph “realizing his potential.” Most draft selections are a crapshoot in that a player can look great in college, only to struggle in the pros. That is true of the first pick all the way down to Mr. Irrelevant at the end of the draft.

Joseph should have a small advantage in that he is a Brandon Beane draft pick, but his draft slot means he could be cut without anyone batting an eye. So it will simply come down to how good he looks in training camp and the preseason.

In terms of undrafted free agents, Buffalo’s own Tyree Jackson stands out as an intriguing player. With Derek Anderson gone the undrafted quarterback could end up making the roster and sticking around for quite some time.

Elsewhere on the offense, wide receiver David Sills V stands out as a player who could make the team at a position in need of playmakers. The former quarterback stands 6-foot-3 and ran a 4.57 40-yard dash at the combine.

Basically any late-round pick and undrafted player could be a potential gem. That is the beauty of watching things progress throughout the summer to the fall.

https://buffalowdown.com/2019/05/27/buffalo-bills-potential-breakout-rookie-2019/

   

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HOUSE Hall of Famer

HOUSE

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1 hour ago, Kirby Jackson said:

They lost me at “could push Milano.” Milano was having a Pro Bowl year in year 2. I like Joseph and think that he could find snaps but it’s not at the expense of Milano assuming he’s healthy.

Mat Milano lives in a cave with no running water....

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MrEpsYtown Veteran

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I'm going to play Devil's advocate here and agree that Joseph could push Milano for snaps. I still don't believe that this regime absolutely loves Milano. He was still losing snaps to Ramon Humber last year, when he was clearly the better player, which is just totally ludicrous. That tells me that he was likely making mistakes in games that were forcing coaches to make that substitution. These are the types of mistakes that we as fans probably can't really see. Don't get me wrong, I love Milano, but he played really terrible in a few games last year. I don't think it is out of the realm of possibility that Joseph could push Milano a bit. 

 

Again, I love Milano. I think he's a prototype Will for today's game, but he's going to be overmatched in power run schemes when teams use tight ends and full backs and run right at him, which is what happened against Indy and New England last year. I think we as fans like him a lot more than the powers that be do (This is just my speculation). If Joseph proves to be just as good in coverage and better in the run game, it isn't totally crazy that he could push Milano for snaps. I do think it's more likely that we see Joseph at some Sam a bit in base 4-3 plays, which would take some linebacker snaps from Lorax which is probably a good thing. I think he could be our poor man's Shaq Thompson.  

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BuffaloBill Hall of Famer

BuffaloBill

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48 minutes ago, whatdrought said:

The national media at large doesn’t realize how well Milano was playing last year. Unless he takes a huge step back, Joseph isn’t taking any of his snaps.

 

 

No kidding. It’s good to hear that Milano is supposed to be healthy.  If this is and remains true he is not likely to be unseated.  

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HOUSE Hall of Famer

HOUSE

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1 hour ago, MrEpsYtown said:

I'm going to play Devil's advocate here and agree that Joseph could push Milano for snaps. I still don't believe that this regime absolutely loves Milano. He was still losing snaps to Ramon Humber last year, when he was clearly the better player, which is just totally ludicrous. That tells me that he was likely making mistakes in games that were forcing coaches to make that substitution. These are the types of mistakes that we as fans probably can't really see. Don't get me wrong, I love Milano, but he played really terrible in a few games last year. I don't think it is out of the realm of possibility that Joseph could push Milano a bit. 

 

Again, I love Milano. I think he's a prototype Will for today's game, but he's going to be overmatched in power run schemes when teams use tight ends and full backs and run right at him, which is what happened against Indy and New England last year. I think we as fans like him a lot more than the powers that be do (This is just my speculation). If Joseph proves to be just as good in coverage and better in the run game, it isn't totally crazy that he could push Milano for snaps. I do think it's more likely that we see Joseph at some Sam a bit in base 4-3 plays, which would take some linebacker snaps from Lorax which is probably a good thing. I think he could be our poor man's Shaq Thompson.  

 

Matt Milano needs a better house. Maybe a dog or something.

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Magox Hall of Famer

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Unless Milano doesnt fully recover he will firmly be entrenched as a 3 down defender.

 

With that said, I am pumped of the possibilities of Joseph, he is extremely athletic, super aggressive and loves to hit.  I think he will thrive in this system and since defenses play less than 50% of their snaps outside of their "base" defense, if he performs well they will find a way to get him some snaps in particular formations.  Good defensive players tend to find a way on the field.

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SoTier Veteran

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I didn't realize 13 games, 3 starts, and 27 receptions for 541 yards (Foster) or 7 games and starts and 3 pass defenses (Wallace) constituted successful NFL careers.   Millano at least played in 29 games over 2 seasons, starting 18, but again, that's hardly a "successful career" at this point.  The author of this article is really scraping the bottom of the barrel to come up with examples of UDFAs and day three draft picks who've done well for the Bills. 

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ROCBillsBeliever Veteran

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1 hour ago, freddyjj said:

Wonder if Joseph will be trained at SAM too.  When Zo retires would be nice to plug Joseph in that spot.  

 

Or if Milano bulks up a bit, and switches to SAM, Joseph could pick up at WILL. I feel like that's Joseph's more natural position, and all Milano lacks, in terms of being a SAM is a little beef. Joseph trains behind Milano this year, and Milano gives Lorax a breather here and there. Next year, Joseph is ready to man the WILL. Just an idea. 

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formerlyofCtown Veteran

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30 minutes ago, SoTier said:

I didn't realize 13 games, 3 starts, and 27 receptions for 541 yards (Foster) or 7 games and starts and 3 pass defenses (Wallace) constituted successful NFL careers.   Millano at least played in 29 games over 2 seasons, starting 18, but again, that's hardly a "successful career" at this point.  The author of this article is really scraping the bottom of the barrel to come up with examples of UDFAs and day three draft picks who've done well for the Bills. 

Kyle Williams, Karlos Williams, Jonathan Williams. Starting to notice a pattern. Shame the later two threw it all away.

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bigK14094 Veteran

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1 hour ago, Magox said:

Unless Milano doesnt fully recover he will firmly be entrenched as a 3 down defender.

 

With that said, I am pumped of the possibilities of Joseph, he is extremely athletic, super aggressive and loves to hit.  I think he will thrive in this system and since defenses play less than 50% of their snaps outside of their "base" defense, if he performs well they will find a way to get him some snaps in particular formations.  Good defensive players tend to find a way on the field.

Milano's coverage skills are unlikely to be matched.  Milano is a converted safety, and knows how to cover.  I look for him to get a few more picks next year, as he was on that track last year before the injury.  He is not the superstud that his running mate is(Edmunds)......but, he will do adequately on the physical tools side.

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Logic All Pro

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3 hours ago, whatdrought said:

The national media at large doesn’t realize how well Milano was playing last year. Unless he takes a huge step back, Joseph isn’t taking any of his snaps.


This.

In season one, he was still working his way into the starting lineup. In season two, he was making as many plays as any linebacker in the league, but JUST when he was starting to get name recognition, he got hurt.

I look forward to Milano claiming his rightful spot as one of the five or ten best weakside linebackers in the game this season. The Edmunds/Milano duo (can Joseph step up and make it a trio?) will be terrorizing the opposition for the next decade in western New York.

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billsredneck1 Veteran

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not only do i think our last 3 picks make the team, but i think we may have struck gold.  i heard ed reed gush over joquan johnson (sp?) saying he's gonna be a star.

 

i also believe joseph will be the head hunter we need and will get some snaps from lorax now and then.

 

lastly, i heard daryl johnson talk in an interview on obl and he's putting on the muscle to get to 260+. he may very well be shaq's replacement next year.

 

overall this will be looked at as a terrific draft.

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Lurker All Pro

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3 hours ago, Kirby Jackson said:

They lost me at “could push Milano.” Milano was having a Pro Bowl year in year 2. I like Joseph and think that he could find snaps but it’s not at the expense of Milano assuming he’s healthy.

 

Same here.   It would be very, very unlikely that Joseph could beat Milano's smarts and instincts right out of the box.    And, given this coaching staff, unlikely that they'd favor a raw rookie over a young, productive vet... 

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Bleeding Bills Blue All Pro

Bleeding Bills Blue

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5 hours ago, whatdrought said:

The national media at large doesn’t realize how well Milano was playing last year. Unless he takes a huge step back, Joseph isn’t taking any of his snaps.

 

If anything he may take some of edmunds snaps in sub packages, and hopefully can be a solid teams contributor.

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whatdrought All Pro

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Just now, dneveu said:

 

If anything he may take some of edmunds snaps in sub packages, and hopefully can be a solid teams contributor.

 

Doubt it... Unless Edmunds struggles he'll be on the field for every defensive snap. He's meant to be the core of the D. 

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26 minutes ago, whatdrought said:

 

Doubt it... Unless Edmunds struggles he'll be on the field for every defensive snap. He's meant to be the core of the D. 

 

yeah - just a thought for how he could see the field on defense.  Coverage situations etc.  I suppose he could also push for playing time in a big nickel with bush.  

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freddyjj Veteran

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5 hours ago, ROCBillsBeliever said:

 

Or if Milano bulks up a bit, and switches to SAM, Joseph could pick up at WILL. I feel like that's Joseph's more natural position, and all Milano lacks, in terms of being a SAM is a little beef. Joseph trains behind Milano this year, and Milano gives Lorax a breather here and there. Next year, Joseph is ready to man the WILL. Just an idea. 

I think Joseph has longer features and room to add weight and would make a better SAM than Milano.  My thought is why move Miano as he is doing very well at Will.  Mo Alexander will likely be his backup this year as we signed him with plan to convert to LB - he has played as a large S to date.

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blacklabel Veteran

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7 hours ago, freddyjj said:

Wonder if Joseph will be trained at SAM too.  When Zo retires would be nice to plug Joseph in that spot.  

 

This was my thought as well. Seems to make more sense to let Zo take him under his wing for this season and hope that Joseph can take over next year when Zo retires. Really can't see him pushing Milano for snaps as that kid is somehow always around the ball.

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Alphadawg7 Hall of Famer

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7 hours ago, whatdrought said:

The national media at large doesn’t realize how well Milano was playing last year. Unless he takes a huge step back, Joseph isn’t taking any of his snaps.

 

EXACTLY.  I had already read this prior to it being posted on this board, and that was my first thought too.  This guy clearly didn't realize how good Milano was playing last year before the injury.  

 

That being said, Milano still only has a partial season under his belt at that level and needs to show he can get back to that level of play before the injury and also keep growing overall.  But all reports from OTA's so far sound like Milano is out there tearing it up already and flying around the ball.  So sounds like Milano isn't showing any drop off or ill affects from the injury and should be a key piece of our defense again this year.  

 

Now this kid still has a lot of potential and could be someone who emerges as a valuable part of the rotation and a guy to groom into a starter some day down the road.  

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TigerJ Veteran

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Milano is close to the perfect weak side linebacker for the McDermott defense.  He has the requisite high football IQ and is very instinctive.  He's not an elite athlete, but he's not bad athletically either.  His main drawback is that he's undersized, being in the low 220s.  Vosean is a little bigger and is more athletic, but the knock on him in college was that his instincts weren't great.  He was over aggressive at times and tended to bite on fakes.  Before he becomes a threat to get a significant number of plays, he needs to prove that he can develop his football IQ and instinctiveness.  As I understand it, there is not that much difference between the roles and physical requirements of strong side and weak side linebacker in the McDermott scheme.  That makes me wonder if Vosean might be groomed to become Lorenzo Alexander's successor.  Whether or not that works will depend on how well Vosean grows mentally into the pro game.

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DJB Veteran

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If Joseph achieves his potential i could easily see him as the WILL in 2020 with Milano as the SAM. 

 

Joseph is pretty small to be a SAM so i dont think he will ever have that job

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freddyjj Veteran

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1 hour ago, DJB said:

If Joseph achieves his potential i could easily see him as the WILL in 2020 with Milano as the SAM. 

 

Joseph is pretty small to be a SAM so i dont think he will ever have that job

FYI Joseph is 6'1" and over 230 lbs.  That is bigger than Milano.  

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Boca BIlls Veteran

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Milano doesn't get "Winded"

 

Can never have enough good backups though. Hope he is as good as this guy thinks, McDermott will find a way for him to get on the field if he is good enough.

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