HappyDays

Rookie getting the 1st team reps: The competition is wide open.

I think MVS is a lock too because we gave him guaranteed money. We will almost certainly keep 6 WRs though so there is room for both. I wouldn't count out Hamler or Shavers either. Joe Buscaglia said they each got a couple 1st team reps yesterday and that the team is very intentional about assigning 1st team reps. Hamler as a kick returner could be lethal so that alone might give him an edge in the competition.

Rather than arguing over the merits of the WRs you listed versus ours, I'll say I'm mainly skeptical because I'm not convinced that Joe Brady is anywhere close to Sean McVay. So like I said at the end of my post I would love for Brady to prove me wrong. I feel pretty confident that I know how each of our skill players will perform this year, for better or worse. I'm less confident that I know how Brady will perform, again for better or worse. I won't be totally shocked if he turns out to be a top 8ish offensive mind. I need to see it first though. I also don't want to be the guy that drags arguments from other threads into this one, so I'll leave it at that. For what it's worth I can see the vision. Almost all of our primary skill players on offense can be moved all around the formation. I can envision an offensive mastermind turning that into something very difficult to defend, even in the absence of one player that can take over games. Just need to see it.

I'm certainly skeptical of the concept but it's the philosophy they have to live with based on the personnel. The coaching staff and the fanbase at large have all latched onto this idea that logically boils down to "having no true #1 creates more efficency." I definitely need to see it to believe it. At the very least I am confident that the complementary players we have can play their respective roles well. I am just not convinced by this idea that the whole will be greater than the parts, not until proven otherwise on Sundays. I'd love to be wrong and for Brady to turn out to be an offensive mastermind capable of making the concept work.

A few more updates:

Yeah clearly they have wanted that explosive gadget player in the offense but the likes of McKenzie and Harty weren't going to get it done so Beane finally just relented and spent mid-tier money at the position. No he has been stuck on the 3rd team behind Will Clapp. Probably still a roster lock as a 5th rounder but feels like he'll be a regular member of the inactive list.

I loved the Samuel signing but I was getting a bit nervous that his name hadn't really been mentioned in OTAs. Glad to see the vision for his role in the offense is coming into focus. He's a true x-factor the likes of which we've never had in the Josh Allen era.

Updates from Matt Parrino:

This is the first practice all offseason we've heard Samuel's name come up a lot. Good to see. We need him to be a major contributor in this offense.