Bills release first official depth chart of 2023

[StHustle]

Doesn’t mean much but it does mean something.

 

 

My takeaways:

 

1. I feel like CB2 by platoon will actually be a thing

2. Still confused how Spector ended up out of the race after reports of that great day he had. I’m fine with it tho. I think Dodson wins it.

 

3. Shane Ray and Isabella will be PS targets and have little to no chance of making final 53. They are perfect guys to maybe eventually earn a spot from showing durability and consistency on scout teams. They’ve had their opportunities to make it in the league already and shouldn’t put these younger guys with unknown ceilings in harms way of being claimed. 
 

4. I think Hamlin makes the final 53. Cam Lewis will be primarily backing up Taron but available at safety in a pinch. Marlowe will not unseat Hamlin.

[Kmart128]

I think Spector is out of the race because of what Beane said during his interview with Pat Mcafee. He said that if a player has a great day with the 3s then theyd move him up to 2s. And if he plays well with 2s they would try them withs 1s and see how they look. My guess is he looked great on days he ran with 2s and 3s but not as good on days he got reps with the 1s.

 

Im also surprised that Torrence and Bates dont have a slash next to their name like the other battles. Especially since Torrence seem to be getting most reps with 1s.

Edited August 9, 2023 by Kmart128

[HereComesTheReignAgain]

Mildly Interesting points:

-Von Miller listed as an edge starter. I wonder if this means there is legitimate optimism that he is ready for the opener? (I'm probably reading too much into that)

-Tim Settle over Poona Ford with Poona being a 3rd stinger.

-Boogie Basham in front of Shane Ray.

-Andy Isabella mired in the 4th string group. (perhaps not surprising at all)

-Ryan Bates in front of O'Cyrus Torrence

Edited August 9, 2023 by HereComesTheReignAgain

[Slippery Rubber Mats]

I think we keep 5 safeties, with one of them being Cam Lewis.

 

Hyde/Poyer/Rapp/Hamlim/Lewis

 

Word from camp says they are putting 3 safeties on the field often, so it would make sense to keep 5 with Lewis being so versatile

[Matt_In_NH]

1 minute ago, HereComesTheReignAgain said:

Tim Settle over Poona Ford with Poona being a 3rd stinger.

This is the thing that jumped out to me also but depth charts now dont have a lot of real meaning.

Edited August 9, 2023 by Matt_In_NH

[DrDawkinstein]

I'm trying to not dive too deep into this since it's just the FIRST depth chart of the season in preparation for the FIRST preseason game (whatever that is worth).

 

Biggest jump outs to me:

 

1. Bates over Torrence, but not too surprising.

2. The battle at WR3

3. Bernard in there at MLB

4. CB2... Cmon, Elam. Time to step up and lock it down.

[FLFan]

I think both Settle and Bates placement on the initial Depth Chart is simply deference being paid to the veteran Bills players and a message that those spots will need to be earned.  I fully expect Ford and Torrence to be occupying the started spots in week 1.

[SWATeam]

15 minutes ago, Kmart128 said:

I think Spector is out of the race because of what Beane said during his interview with Pat Mcafee. He said that if a player has a great day with the 3s then theyd move him up to 2s. And if he plays well with 2s they would try them withs 1s and see how they look. My guess is he looked great on days he ran with 2s and 3s but not as good on days he got reps with the 1s.

 

Im also surprised that Torrence and Bates dont have a slash next to their name like the other battles. Especially since Torrence seem to be getting most reps with 1s.

Joe B says the only reason Torrence gets so many 1st string reps is because Bates is getting 2nd string center reps and he can't take all the 1st string guard reps plus all those center reps.  Bates is outperforming Torrence but they are managing his reps. 

[DrDawkinstein]

16 minutes ago, Kmart128 said:

I think Spector is out of the race because of what Beane said during his interview with Pat Mcafee. He said that if a player has a great day with the 3s then theyd move him up to 2s. And if he plays well with 2s they would try them withs 1s and see how they look. My guess is he looked great on days he ran with 2s and 3s but not as good on days he got reps with the 1s.

 

Im also surprised that Torrence and Bates dont have a slash next to their name like the other battles. Especially since Torrence seem to be getting most reps with 1s.

 

I never understood all the Spector love here. Is it because he came out of a big program? He's never stood out on the field to me, even when he was at Clemson.

 

He always seemed like an AJ Klein replacement, at best.

[MJS]

18 minutes ago, Kmart128 said:

I think Spector is out of the race because of what Beane said during his interview with Pat Mcafee. He said that if a player has a great day with the 3s then theyd move him up to 2s. And if he plays well with 2s they would try them withs 1s and see how they look. My guess is he looked great on days he ran with 2s and 3s but not as good on days he got reps with the 1s.

 

Im also surprised that Torrence and Bates dont have a slash next to their name like the other battles. Especially since Torrence seem to be getting most reps with 1s.

Bates is also the backup center, so when he gets backup center reps, Torrence runs with the 1's.

[DrDawkinstein]

So Kincaid, Torrence, and Williams are all buried. But McD doesnt slow-roll rookies...

[Dan Darragh]

26 minutes ago, StHustle said:

I feel like CB2 by platoon will actually be a thing

How does a platoon work in football?  Does one of them play against righthanded receivers and the other one against southpaws?

[NewEra]

Not yet mentioned-

Harty 1st team returner on both punts and kickoffs

 

Tommt Doyle 2nd string LT-  does he make the team over Quess or shell?  I doubt we keep 3 backup OTs

 

Shell over Quess backing up Brown

 

 

[Kmart128]

5 minutes ago, DrDawkinstein said:

I'm trying to not dive too deep into this since it's just the FIRST depth chart of the season in preparation for the FIRST preseason game (whatever that is worth).

 

Biggest jump outs to me:

 

1. Bates over Torrence, but not too surprising.

2. The battle at WR3

3. Bernard in there at MLB

4. CB2... Cmon, Elam. Time to step up and lock it down.

Pretty sure any positional battle on depth chart is alphabetical by last name

[Heavy Kevi]

Hoping Torrence can beat out bates by week 1🤞

 

Interesting they listed all 3 cb2 in the same slot

[DrDawkinstein]

2 minutes ago, Kmart128 said:

Pretty sure any positional battle on depth chart is alphabetical by last name

 

Not sure if this is in response to MLB, CB2, or both. But either way, the fact theyre still in a battle, especially at CB2, is the part that stands out most.

 

Competition is good! But I'm hoping it's not because no one is stepping in as the clear cut winner.

[BADOLBILZ]

20 minutes ago, HereComesTheReignAgain said:

 

-Tim Settle over Poona Ford with Poona being a 3rd stinger.

 

 

 

They may be hoping to trade Settle to a team in need late in TC and want it out there that he's looking good and maybe even ahead of a proven vet like Ford?

[NewEra]

5 minutes ago, DrDawkinstein said:

 

I never understood all the Spector love here. Is it because he came out of a big program? He's never stood out on the field to me, even when he was at Clemson.

 

He always seemed like an AJ Klein replacement, at best.

This is how I see it:  Spector is a better athlete and has more upside in coverage.  Dodson has already proven to be poor in coverage.  We saw Dodson come in vs the Vikings and play a big part in losing the game.  

In this case the unknown is more intriguing than the known.  🤷🏻‍♂️ 

[BuffaloBillyG]

I'm going to preface this with saying that the 1st depth chart is typically meaningless. But it's not going to stop me from a few knee jerk hot takes...which are equally meaningless.

 

1. Spector being out of the MLB race early. I know there were some in his corner here. He does make the splash play here and there. But (at least last preseason) he had a tendency to free lance quite a bit. And while it results in a nice play here and there, this defense is meant for everyone to do their 1/11th and be in the spot they are supposed to be in. Still, I expect him to make the squad and keep improving.

 

2. I am a Torrence guy. I wanted him predraft and am ELATED the Bills selected him. That said, Bates starting week 1 at RG wouldn't shock me. However, I believe they know Torrence is likely to see the field sooner than later due to either him vaulting Bates...or injury to the IOL meaning Bates has to cover C or LG. Getting Torrence a lot of reps now with the 1s is the smart play.

 

3. CB2. I'm getting used to the term "matchup specific". I think Jackson/Benford/Elam all make starts. Having depth at CB is a good thing.

 

4. DT: Poona being 3rd team was a tad shocking as I would see him above Settle at least and Phillips since he's yet to make it all the way back. I still expect when the dust sets that's where he will end up.

 

5. OT: Shell being RT2 over Q is surprising (but a pleasant one for me) as is Doyle being LT2. (Not nearly as pleasant).

 

6. The overall depth of this roster is insane. We will be cutting players that can start for other teams. 

 

7. I think we are going to see a lot more vets in the PS this year than years past. Isabella, Klein, Marlowe, Ray all stick out to me as candidates. PS team will look odd without Tanner Gentry occupying the "Friend of Josh Allen" annual spot. 

 

8. Kyle Allen and Matt Barkley. Woof.

 

[AuntieEm]

7 minutes ago, SWATeam said:

Joe B says the only reason Torrence gets so many 1st string reps is because Bates is getting 2nd string center reps and he can't take all the 1st string guard reps plus all those center reps.  Bates is outperforming Torrence but they are managing his reps. 

 

  And it doesn't hurt Torrence a bit to get in all these reps against the 1s,  might get him up to starting caliber sooner with the work put in.

[Dopey]

8 minutes ago, DrDawkinstein said:

 

I never understood all the Spector love here. Is it because he came out of a big program? He's never stood out on the field to me, even when he was at Clemson.

 

He always seemed like an AJ Klein replacement, at best.

cuz he's not Edmunds. We do have a "anyone, but Edmunds" club here. 

[DrDawkinstein]

6 minutes ago, Dopey said:

cuz he's not Edmunds. We do have a "anyone, but Edmunds" club here. 

 

I served on the board of that club all the way up to the beginning of last season.

 

Changed my tune on him a bit through last year. That was a tough call for Beane. Cant pay him as much as the Bears tho.

[HappyDays]

36 minutes ago, DrDawkinstein said:

 

I never understood all the Spector love here. Is it because he came out of a big program? He's never stood out on the field to me, even when he was at Clemson.

 

He always seemed like an AJ Klein replacement, at best.

 

It's because Spector is the one unknown on the depth chart. I've seen Dodson in coverage, he isn't good enough. This is year five for him, I doubt the light is suddenly going to go on. Bernard looked completely overmatched to me in his limited reps last year. Nothing I've heard about him at camp this year eases that concern. I don't typically give up on players this early but I think they just blew that pick. It happens. So a small part of me hoped Spector would come out of nowhere and at least give us starting caliber play at the position.

 

The reality is that MLB is going to be a weak point for us this year, no getting around that now. It's a little scary having no starting level talent for a key position but I suppose most teams have to deal with that somewhere on their roster.

[BADOLBILZ]

18 minutes ago, HappyDays said:

 

It's because Spector is the one unknown on the depth chart. I've seen Dodson in coverage, he isn't good enough. This is year five for him, I doubt the light is suddenly going to go on. Bernard looked completely overmatched to me in his limited reps last year. Nothing I've heard about him at camp this year eases that concern. I don't typically give up on players this early but I think they just blew that pick. It happens. So a small part of me hoped Spector would come out of nowhere and at least give us starting caliber play at the position.

 

The reality is that MLB is going to be a weak point for us this year, no getting around that now. It's a little scary having no starting level talent for a key position but I suppose most teams have to deal with that somewhere on their roster.

 

 

I think(hope) the defense is going to be more about making impact plays against the offense this year as opposed to just trying to prevent them from happening to them.

 

That's how they got here and considering that the previous iterations of the defense couldn't even slow down the Chiefs or Bengals in the playoffs it was definitely time for a change.   In fact, it should have been changed after it failed in 2020.   It was just too comfortable building around Tremaine and keeping Frazier in place.

 

 

Edited August 9, 2023 by BADOLBILZ

[Fleezoid]

I like that Shorter is 2nd behind Davis. I think that puts him at number 4 behind Sherfield overall. If you throw Harty in the mix, he probably slips to 5. Just keep him on the active roster. Size matters. 

[Beast]

Baylon Spector…can he play ST? The two guys behind him on the depth chart can.

 

 

Edited August 9, 2023 by Beast

[HIT BY SPIKES]

1 hour ago, Kmart128 said:

I think Spector is out of the race because of what Beane said during his interview with Pat Mcafee. He said that if a player has a great day with the 3s then theyd move him up to 2s. And if he plays well with 2s they would try them withs 1s and see how they look. My guess is he looked great on days he ran with 2s and 3s but not as good on days he got reps with the 1s.

 

Im also surprised that Torrence and Bates dont have a slash next to their name like the other battles. Especially since Torrence seem to be getting most reps with 1s.

If Bates starts over Torrence come Opening Day, I will lose my mind.

[Warriorspikes51]

15 minutes ago, Fleezoid said:

I like that Shorter is 2nd behind Davis. I think that puts him at number 4 behind Sherfield overall. If you throw Harty in the mix, he probably slips to 5. Just keep him on the active roster. Size matters. 

 

Diggs

Davis

Sherfield
Harty - Can fill in outside or slot with speed

Shakir

Shorter
Shavers / Isabella  if they keep 7 

Edited August 9, 2023 by Warriorspikes51

[HIT BY SPIKES]

1 hour ago, Dopey said:

cuz he's not Edmunds. We do have a "anyone, but Edmunds" club here. 

If Edmunds had simply flipped a coin every time he saw a runner coming, he would have had 25% more tackles.

[Fleezoid]

3 minutes ago, Warriorspikes51 said:

 

Diggs

Davis

Sherfield
Harty - Can fill in outside or slot with speed

Shakir

Shorter
Shavers / Isabella  if they keep 7 

 

I forgot to factor in Shakir. I still like it. 

[Big Turk]

A little surprised to see Poona Ford behind Settle considering his underwhelming performance last year...

 

Perhaps anyone with the team last year was simply by default higher since it's still early and they haven't played any preseason games yet to separate?

[Dopey]

5 minutes ago, HIT BY SPIKES said:

If Edmunds had simply flipped a coin every time he saw a runner coming, he would have had 25% more tackles.

I'll add this to the list of idiotic statements on Edmunds put out on TBD. Thanks.

[Big Turk]

1 hour ago, StHustle said:

Doesn’t mean much but it does mean something.

 

 

My takeaways:

 

1. I feel like CB2 by platoon will actually be a thing

2. Still confused how Spector ended up out of the race after reports of that great day he had. I’m fine with it tho. I think Dodson wins it.

 

3. Shane Ray and Isabella will be PS targets and have little to no chance of making final 53. They are perfect guys to maybe eventually earn a spot from showing durability and consistency on scout teams. They’ve had their opportunities to make it in the league already and shouldn’t put these younger guys with unknown ceilings in harms way of being claimed. 
 

4. I think Hamlin makes the final 53. Cam Lewis will be primarily backing up Taron but available at safety in a pinch. Marlowe will not unseat Hamlin.

 

Why would Hamlin get cut? He was improving every game last year especially in run support. Granted his coverage skills aren't great. But if Hyde and Power stay healthy he will likely be relegated to spot duty, especially with them having Rapp now as well.

 

On top of that it would be a PR nightmare if they cut him and likely could effect the mentality of the team.

27 minutes ago, Fleezoid said:

I like that Shorter is 2nd behind Davis. I think that puts him at number 4 behind Sherfield overall. If you throw Harty in the mix, he probably slips to 5. Just keep him on the active roster. Size matters. 

 

Haha, most women secretly think so too even if they won't openly admit it 😂

[HIT BY SPIKES]

9 minutes ago, Dopey said:

I'll add this to the list of idiotic statements on Edmunds put out on TBD. Thanks.

You are welcome.

 

I hope the Bears schedule does not conflict with the Bills so you can continue to watch his play in Chicago in real time.

[Alphadawg7]

1 hour ago, Kmart128 said:

I think Spector is out of the race because of what Beane said during his interview with Pat Mcafee. He said that if a player has a great day with the 3s then theyd move him up to 2s. And if he plays well with 2s they would try them withs 1s and see how they look. My guess is he looked great on days he ran with 2s and 3s but not as good on days he got reps with the 1s.

 

Im also surprised that Torrence and Bates dont have a slash next to their name like the other battles. Especially since Torrence seem to be getting most reps with 1s.

 

McD always prefers to bring rookies along slowly when they can.  So, I think the Bates O'Cyrus thing is probably more because he is a rookie and they want him to know he isn't going to just be given priority because he was a 2nd round pick, he has to earn it and show he is ready.  I expect O'Cyrus wins the job either by week 1 or early in the year. 

 

 

[3rdand12]

2 hours ago, DrDawkinstein said:

So Kincaid, Torrence, and Williams are all buried. But McD doesnt slow-roll rookies...

Its not The Season either 😁

[3rdand12]

2 hours ago, Dan Darragh said:

How does a platoon work in football?  Does one of them play against righthanded receivers and the other one against southpaws?

You are onto it actually.

Matchups or the reasoning. Same with D line.

Press or Man coverage. Fast or big receivers. ETC

 week to week and down to down for situational.

Also like they bring out nickel to defense vs dime package.

Versatility and multiple is the name of the game these days.

Trying to match up to what the offense is bringing.

For some reason i think you already know this LOL

[boyst]

Who's the few folks that kept ringing that bell for Spector? How I was wrong to think he is not going to make it?

 

Apologize, please 

[Don Otreply]

2 hours ago, DrDawkinstein said:

I'm trying to not dive too deep into this since it's just the FIRST depth chart of the season in preparation for the FIRST preseason game (whatever that is worth).

 

Biggest jump outs to me:

 

1. Bates over Torrence, but not too surprising.

2. The battle at WR3

3. Bernard in there at MLB

4. CB2... Cmon, Elam. Time to step up and lock it down.

Kinda looks to me like Sherfield is pretty much a lock for WR3, he has had a really good camp thus far, and Elam needs to “ lock it down”   Dane is only slightly better than the guy he replaced forget his name, 😁

[3rdand12]

4 minutes ago, boyst said:

Who's the few folks that kept ringing that bell for Spector? How I was wrong to think he is not going to make it?

 

Apologize, please 

I think it was out of desperation. lol
Riddle me this one.

How is it Bills did not bring in one of the FAs MLBs we had all discussed back when , who would have been at least been a known quantity and actually good to very good

1 minute ago, Don Otreply said:

Kinda looks to me like Sherfield is pretty much a lock for WR3, he has had a really good camp thus far, and Elam needs to “ lock it down”   Dane is only slightly better than the guy he replaced forget his name, 😁

Kevin ?