Bills release first official depth chart of 2023

[boyst]

13 minutes ago, 3rdand12 said:

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

Kevin ?

That's what puzzled me last year. There were experienced vets available after injuries at LB last year and we sat there thinking we had capable playmakers. Dobson was all we had. 

[Don Otreply]

13 minutes ago, 3rdand12 said:

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

Kevin ?

He went to Cleveland, Levy I think was his name, very religious guy, gave out his phone number to fans during Covid i

[Airseven]

It's only a starting point, but I don't expect much to change from this. Thoughts:

- still concerned about WR depth especially seeing Shorter behind Davis

- interested if/when Torrence overtakes Bates

- 9th OL spot is a battle assuming they don't keep 10

- Miller as DE1 should be drowning in asterisks...

- ...although DL looks so much better overall with Floyd as 2nd team

- C/B/2 is pretty funny (depressing)

- LB is a hellscape

- Lewis acknowledged as S is interesting

[Slippery Rubber Mats]

2 minutes ago, Airseven said:

 

- C/B/2 is pretty funny (depressing)

 

 

IMO it's only depressing if your viewpoint is that the players involved aren't good enough. If they are all good and the coaches are giving them a fair shot, it's a good problem.

[Alphadawg7]

1 hour ago, ScottLaw said:

To be honest I was dumb founded that some very good posters here wanted Frazier back…. Dude absolutely needed to go after yet another pathetic elimination game defensive performance. 

 

I agree, I could not understand any defense of Frazier after yet another lay down and pathetic showing in a playoff loss by the defense.

[RyanC883]

Settle  as no 2 is interesting. 

Edited August 9, 2023 by RyanC883

[Airseven]

2 minutes ago, RyanC883 said:

Settle  as no 2 is interesting. 

I thought the same. But then again, this staff prioritizes familiarity so perhaps the new guy behind Settle at this point is perfunctory.

[Alphadawg7]

6 hours 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.

 

 

 

 

 

1.  Agree - I think its possible that CB2 will see some rotations based on defensive matchups, scheme, etc.  For example when they want to run man and/or press, could Elam out there opposite Tre with Dane/Benford maybe more in zone, etc.    

 

2.  I think you answered your own question when you said he had a great "day".  Lots of guys have a good day in camp, but its about consistency and overall performance throughout camp and I feel like we have heard a lot more about Bernard and Dodson overall.  So I am assuming they just have more consistently stood out than Spector has and made this more of a 2 man race.  

1 hour ago, RyanC883 said:

Settle  as no 2 is interesting. 

 

Settle has had a good camp, and Poona is still learning the playbook.  So I expected to see Settle at #2 personally.  Our DT position is deep right now as we are 5 deep with guys who could be starters on several other teams.  McD is going to use a good rotation on them, so I think being 2 or 3 is a bit irrelevant when it comes to DT as they will get snaps.  

 

Same for a guy like Shaq at DE who is 3rd on the depth chart, but they will get him into the rotation still as he played well last year and why they brought him back.  

[Beck Water]

7 hours ago, Kmart128 said:

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'm not sure that it's true Torrence was getting most reps with the 1s.

 

I think he got reps during the walk-throughs before stretching and that confused many of us that he was "starting with the 1's".  Other than that I think he mostly got reps when Bates was working at C with the 2's

[3rdand12]

4 hours ago, Don Otreply said:

He went to Cleveland, Levy I think was his name, very religious guy, gave out his phone number to fans during Covid i

I was thinking Kevin Johnson for some ODD reason

2 hours ago, RyanC883 said:

Settle  as no 2 is interesting. 

Ima tellin' ya ! He is Jones next.

Oliver has Phillips

2 hours ago, Airseven said:

I thought the same. But then again, this staff prioritizes familiarity so perhaps the new guy behind Settle at this point is perfunctory.

Poona will be a beast.
he might be rotating on run And pass downs !

[Dopey]

6 hours ago, HIT BY SPIKES said:

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.

So do I. 

[PBF81]

6 hours 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 

 

And those that seemed to think that Williams would end up at MLB, or that Klein was anything but a depth player at this point in his career.  Maybe he'll move up, but based on this chart I at least feel vindicated in my positions about the starting players.  Same for Poona Ford whom IMO many overrate.  

 

 

5 hours ago, 3rdand12 said:

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 

 

Again, poor planning.  

 

I'm not sure that it can reasonably be spun any other way.  

 

 

Edited August 9, 2023 by PBF81

[PBF81]

6 hours ago, HIT BY SPIKES said:

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.

 

We're going to miss Edmunds. 

 

The move was probably best for both however, us as well as Edmunds.  I suspect that he'll flourish in Chicago in a traditional MLB role.  

 

We obviously didn't use him that way.  

 

 

[Pete]

8 hours ago, Slippery Rubber Mats said:

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

Lewis is making the team as a S or CB.  His versatility is what makes him a roster lock.  He’s had a great camp, he has experience at both CB and S, and he is a core special teamer

[Success]

I still feel terrible for Hines. But looking at this, where would he have landed if healthy?   Is it possible he wouldn't have made the active roster?

 

[PBF81]

7 hours ago, Warriorspikes51 said:

 

Diggs

Davis

Sherfield
Harty - Can fill in outside or slot with speed

Shakir

Shorter
Shavers / Isabella  if they keep 7 

 

Seems to me that Sherfield's the 6th WR overall at present, the most likely to be knocked out by another.  I don't think he will be, but Diggs, Davis, Harty, and Shakir are locks.  I can't imagine that they'll waive Shorter, their early 5th-round draft pick, who was the second leading WR, only by a narrow margin, in his last two seasons at Florida, with siht running QBs that were among the worst passers in the SEC.  IMO his ceiling is higher than most think.  

 

That would place Sherfield, who despite any narratives, hasn't done much to distinguish himself in four seasons in the NFL, as the most likely one to be surpassed, especially since the only two behind him whose names I've heard about from Camp, Isabella and Johnson, are in his spot on the depth chart right behind him.  

 

The fact that Isabella is after Harty and Shakir as a specialist may be concerning for Sherfield.  

 

 

[LABILLBACKER]

8 hours ago, HereComesTheReignAgain said:

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

How is Settle & Basham ahead of Poona & Ray?

[Beck Water]

7 hours ago, HereComesTheReignAgain said:

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

 

DL:

I don't like seeing Poona at #3.  That puts our DTs as Oliver/Phillips at 3T and Jones/Settle at 1T, and reminds me of the precept "insanity is doing the same thing repeatedly and expecting a different result".  It's not that the first 4 aren't good players - they are - but Phillips has been injured so often "and then what?"

 

Unless we keep 5 DTs this year which would bring us to....

Von Miller pairerd with Rousseau and Epenesa paired with Floyd is at least different...but will they move on from Basham, or will they be trying to keep 10 DL?

 

Other comments on Defense:

 

DB:

Hamlin/Lewis for safety #4 is a surprise.  They also show Lewis as the backup nickel.  So it'll be interesting to see how they break it down.

They have for the last 3 years gone with 6 CB and 4 safeties, which could be something like White, Jackson, Benford, Elam, Johnson, Lewis?  Would they actually move on from Siran Neal?  Then the safeties could be Poyer, Hyde, Rapp and...Lewis, if they keep Neal?  Or Hamlin, and they keep Lewis as a 6th CB?  Neal, for the capology inclined, is signed through 2024 and his salary this season is fully guaranteed.

 

A puzzle.

 

LB: shocks me to see Matakevich and Klein lost on the 4th string behind Howard and Spector.  For those who keep track of such things, Matakevich signed a $2.5M guaranteed contract, but his cap hit is only $1.8M because they pushed half his signing bonus off into a void year.   So it costs the Bills cap to cut him.  They may, however, plan to move him from PUP to IR/eligible to return.  Klein, on the other hand, is on a vet salary benefit deal with $100k signing bonus, so he can be cut with minimal cap impact.  I thought they liked Klein, though.  Maybe he's really fallen off and Spector is really coming on.

 

ST: well, for those who thought Shakir was leading the PR/KR race, Nope.  It's Harty.  What happened to Darrynton Evans, though?  I guess he quickly fell out of the running, which, well, doesn't look good for his chances at Running Back with the Bills.

 

Offense:

WR:

Harty/Shakir sharing a slash at the slot is interesting.  So is having Marcel Ateman ahead of Shavers and Patman.  I thought Shavers was showing some stuff.  Ateman (and I had to look this up) was a 2018 7th round pick of the Raiders.  He spent 4 years with the Raiders, mostly on their PS, before signing with the Cardinals and getting cut just before the season.  He was then signed by the St Louis Battlehawks (Ka-kaw!) but apparently injured.

 

So the Bills have a couple guys who are a bit long in the tooth as journeyman (in Ateman and Keesean Johnson, a 6th round AZ pick in 2019) ahead of a couple of guys I thought were promising (and younger) players in Patman (2020 6th round, Colts), Shavers (2023 UDFA) and Isaiah Coulter (2020 5th round, Houston).  Then there's 2019 2nd rounder Andy Isabella who is right behind Harty/Shakir as a slot.

 

.....hitting Josh Allen in the head with a football at the Red and Blue Scrimmage can't have helped Coulter's case LOL.  But it will be interesting to see how this depth chart goes down.

 

RB: I thought Jordan Mims had promise.

 

OL: I had hopes, from what we've heard, for Richard Gouraige.  Disappointed to see him behind Ryan Van Demark at LT - and where did Tommy Doyle come from to be 2nd behind Dawkins?  I haven't heard a peep about him.

 

Interesting to see Ike Boettger behind David Edwards on the depth chart.  Are the Bills finally ready to move on from him?  Achilles is a hard injury to come back from. 

 

TE: for those who thought Steinberger over Morris, this depth chart says 'nope'

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Pete]

CB and S

White

Elam

Bedford

Taron

Jackson

Lewis

 

Poyer

Hyde

Rapp

Hamlin

 

^two of the easier position groups to predict- there is 10 roster spots=43 remaining spots 

 

Bass

Sam

Reid

=40 remaining roster spots 

 

Josh

Allen or Barkley

=38 remaining spots 

 

Damian

Cook

Latavious

Gilliam 

=34 remaining spots

 

TE

Knox

Dalton

Morris

 

= 31 spots remaining for OL, DL, WR, LB- these groups there will be some tough decisions 

 

[ColoradoBills]

First, the 3 camp battles for RG, MLB and CB2 is no surprise and I like that there is competition.

I foresee Torrence getting the RG spot to start the season or soon after.

 

Having Sherfield as Diggs backup is what I wanted.  He'll get a decent number of snaps just spelling Diggs along with multiple WR snaps.

He will come in way before Shorter.

It also puts to bed some fans thinking he is in the SWR battle.

 

Cam Lewis as the depth NCB pushes Siran Neal farther down.  Not sure how that does not make the "possibility" of a cap casualty not in the mix.

$3.3M for a ST gunner that far down the position list is a puzzlement IF some of these other new acquisitions can man the post.

 

Tough to do at this time of year but there is a possibility of a trade if Beane wants to do that with a couple of players.

 

It's the first depth chart so I could see some movement as the preseason continues.