What are the Bills biggest areas of depth and need heading in the off-season?

[GASabresIUFan]

Heading into the off-season

 

The Bills' biggest strength may be the O Line.  All 5 starters are under contract.  Key backup Bates is also under contract and they have youngsters Doyle, Anderson, and Van Denmark also under contract.  The only real loss is Edwards.

 

Another area of strength in LB.  Even without Dodson, the Bills have starters Milano and Benard under contract and kids Spector and Williams who played pretty well when called upon late in the year.  If Milano isn't progressing well from his injury then Beane's opinion of this area will probably change, but right now we have 4 guys under contract for next season and the Bills usually only carry 5.

 

TE - Kincaid and Knox are under contract.  We also have 2 others on futures contracts including McKitty.

 

The last area of strength is the CBs.  All three starters are in place in Douglas, Benford, and Taron Johnson.  Elam, like it or not, is also returning.  The question here is additional depth and whether Elam finally take a step forward.   The oft-injured White is under contract but is a likely cap casualty.  Dane Jackson will be a loss if he isn't re-signed.

 

The questionable areas are as follows:

 

D Line - We have 4 guys under contract including 2 excellent starters in Rousseau and Olivier.  However, after that, there are only question marks.  The biggest is the Miller.  Can he return to form? If he does, that will be a huge boost to the Bills' defense and their SB aspirations.  Jonathan is the only signed depth of note.  The biggest issue will be replacing the run-stuffing DaQuan Jones.  Settle, Floyd, Phillips, Lawson, and Ford are probably all gone.

 

Safety - Only Poyer and Hamlin are under contract and both could be cut.  Replacing Hyde and Rapp and possibly Poyer seems like a nearly impossible task.

 

WR - The Bills have Shakir and DIggs which is a solid place to start.  Shorter is under contract but not sure if he'll contribute or not.  Harty is under contract, but I expect him to get cut.  Davis is the biggest loss but is easily replaced.

 

RB - Cook is a star and could be a superstar if he makes strides in holding onto the ball (fumbles and catches).  The question is who do we have after him?  Hines is under contract, but I suspect he'll be a cap casualty.  Ty Johnson played well but is an FA.  Murray is also an FA, but I don't expect him back. 

 

 

 

[RyanC883]

totally agree.  

 

One thought:  Given the OL and what it means to team success, I would not be opposed to adding a top C/G in Rd3 to provide depth and have a young guy ready to be Allens next long term center after Morse.

 

But WR safety and DL are l gaping holes.  I expect the draft to be some combo of WR, S, and interior DL heavy.  Hopefully two WRs at least.  

 

 

[Royale with Cheese]

I don't think Safety is as big an issue if Poyer comes back.  Poyer isn't all pro, he's an average safety now.  

Either Rapp or Lewis take over at the other safety...thinking Lewis.  

Not that I don't want to upgrade that position but I would rather put money towards a WR and duct tape at safety.

 

 

[GASabresIUFan]

5 minutes ago, RyanC883 said:

totally agree.  

 

One thought:  Given the OL and what it means to team success, I would not be opposed to adding a top C/G in Rd3 to provide depth and have a young guy ready to be Allens next long term center after Morse.

 

But WR safety and DL are l gaping holes.  I expect the draft to be some combo of WR, S, and interior DL heavy.  Hopefully two WRs at least.  

 

 

Bates is the backup center and is under contract.  I do agree that a long-term solution at center is needed, but I can see Beane kicking that can down the road for another year, especially if he restructures Morse's deal to include another year.

[NeverOutNick]

4 minutes ago, RyanC883 said:

totally agree.  

 

One thought:  Given the OL and what it means to team success, I would not be opposed to adding a top C/G in Rd3 to provide depth and have a young guy ready to be Allens next long term center after Morse.

 

But WR safety and DL are l gaping holes.  I expect the draft to be some combo of WR, S, and interior DL heavy.  Hopefully two WRs at least.  

 

 

100% you have to draft OL somewhere and keep developing. Love that they all played well but Dawkins is getting older and more expensive, Morse is probably on his last legs and who knows how long before Brown has a back problem again. I like Alec Anderson and Van Denmark a lot though

 

2 WRs at least in this LOADED wr draft class taking a page out of GBs book. But this time draft actual WRs not guys who look good in a t shirt and shorters (see what I did there)

 

D Jones will probably be back if Beane likes the numbers but I agree grab a big man in the draft too. Doesn’t have to be early 

 

safety I think we can find value in free agency with a deep FA class looking for jobs and find another guy in the draft. Honestly this is not a concern of mine because even though I don’t like McD. He and the coaching staff do a great job developing defensive backs (outside of Elam so far lol)

[GASabresIUFan]

4 minutes ago, Royale with Cheese said:

I don't think Safety is as big an issue if Poyer comes back.  Poyer isn't all pro, he's an average safety now.  

Either Rapp or Lewis take over at the other safety...thinking Lewis.  

Not that I don't want to upgrade that position but I would rather put money towards a WR and duct tape at safety.

 

 

 Neither Rapp nor Lewis are under contract.  Hamlin and Poyer are our only 2 safeties under contract and both could be cap casualties. 

[PromoTheRobot]

WR, Safety, LB. Also stock up on OL, CB, maybe even draft a backup QB.

[GASabresIUFan]

What would be an interesting development at center is extending Morse one more year, then trading Bates to fill another area of need and drafting a center in the first 4 rounds (maybe even with the pick received for Bates).  This would save about 4-5 million in cap.  

[Royale with Cheese]

7 minutes ago, GASabresIUFan said:

 Neither Rapp nor Lewis are under contract.  Hamlin and Poyer are our only 2 safeties under contract and both could be cap casualties. 

 

I really think they like Lewis so I think he's back.

 

But then, it's going to be draft picks and depth.  

Not the greatest but still want money put towards offense.

[Sestak4ever]

I believe in this front office to fill positions of need. If you remember, this past off season everyone on this board was concerned about our linebacking depth. Now it appears to be a position of strength. It’s tough maintaining a competitive roster year in and year out, especially with a veteran roster such as ours. Bean does a great job. Go Bills!

[CaptnCoke11]

Gotta invest picks/free agents in WR, safety, DL.  That would be the main focus.  Other areas can use some depth in late rounds or later in free agency with some one year contract guys.  

[BuffaloBillyG]

As of right now in no particular order:

 

Safety

1T DT

EDGE

WR

OL depth

RB 

 

Some of these areas will be addressed in FA and some through re-signing some players. 

[LABILLBACKER]

37 minutes ago, RyanC883 said:

totally agree.  

 

One thought:  Given the OL and what it means to team success, I would not be opposed to adding a top C/G in Rd3 to provide depth and have a young guy ready to be Allens next long term center after Morse.

 

But WR safety and DL are l gaping holes.  I expect the draft to be some combo of WR, S, and interior DL heavy.  Hopefully two WRs at least.  

 

 

Yeah the draft needs to look something like wr, s, dt, wr, s, de.  In group categories fa wise I hope we can keep Dane & Ty as quality depth. Nothing sucks more than draining huge cap money on injured or underperforming players like Von, Tre, Dawson and even Diggs to some degree. 

[strive_for_five_guy]

2 hours ago, NeverOutNick said:

100% you have to draft OL somewhere and keep developing. Love that they all played well but Dawkins is getting older and more expensive, Morse is probably on his last legs and who knows how long before Brown has a back problem again. I like Alec Anderson and Van Denmark a lot though

 

2 WRs at least in this LOADED wr draft class taking a page out of GBs book. But this time draft actual WRs not guys who look good in a t shirt and shorters (see what I did there)

 

D Jones will probably be back if Beane likes the numbers but I agree grab a big man in the draft too. Doesn’t have to be early 

 

safety I think we can find value in free agency with a deep FA class looking for jobs and find another guy in the draft. Honestly this is not a concern of mine because even though I don’t like McD. He and the coaching staff do a great job developing defensive backs (outside of Elam so far lol)

What you’ve outlined sounds right here.  I really think they’re going to try and keep White, as long as he’s willing to restructure his deal.  An older CB coming off an Achilles injury, a couple years removed from an ACL injury, isn’t ideal for Tre’s outlook or market value.  That said, I’m keeping fingers crossed he can surprise and rejoin our CB ranks.  If that somehow does happen, maybe they look into moving one of the CBs like Benford over to FS.  I still would want to draft a young safety as well, but it’d be nice to have additional flexibility in our DB room.

[GustheDog33]

Hard-nosed QB Coach that strikes fear into the heart of Josh Allen, but not Kyle Allen, but also Jim Kelly and Frank Reich need to do the Bills a solid and be the Hard-nosed QB whisper coach who Josh respects but mostly fears because he has turnovers and other bad stuff even though Josh is great-sucks.

[QB Bills]

By far the biggest area of need is a competent head coach.

 

In terms of players, a receiver who can create separation on his own as this offense isn't great at scheming guys open.

[SoonerBillsFan]

2 hours ago, GASabresIUFan said:

Heading into the off-season

 

The Bills' biggest strength may be the O Line.  All 5 starters are under contract.  Key backup Bates is also under contract and they have youngsters Doyle, Anderson, and Van Denmark also under contract.  The only real loss is Edwards.

 

Another area of strength in LB.  Even without Dodson, the Bills have starters Milano and Benard under contract and kids Spector and Williams who played pretty well when called upon late in the year.  If Milano isn't progressing well from his injury then Beane's opinion of this area will probably change, but right now we have 4 guys under contract for next season and the Bills usually only carry 5.

 

TE - Kincaid and Knox are under contract.  We also have 2 others on futures contracts including McKitty.

 

The last area of strength is the CBs.  All three starters are in place in Douglas, Benford, and Taron Johnson.  Elam, like it or not, is also returning.  The question here is additional depth and whether Elam finally take a step forward.   The oft-injured White is under contract but is a likely cap casualty.  Dane Jackson will be a loss if he isn't re-signed.

 

The questionable areas are as follows:

 

D Line - We have 4 guys under contract including 2 excellent starters in Rousseau and Olivier.  However, after that, there are only question marks.  The biggest is the Miller.  Can he return to form? If he does, that will be a huge boost to the Bills' defense and their SB aspirations.  Jonathan is the only signed depth of note.  The biggest issue will be replacing the run-stuffing DaQuan Jones.  Settle, Floyd, Phillips, Lawson, and Ford are probably all gone.

 

Safety - Only Poyer and Hamlin are under contract and both could be cut.  Replacing Hyde and Rapp and possibly Poyer seems like a nearly impossible task.

 

WR - The Bills have Shakir and DIggs which is a solid place to start.  Shorter is under contract but not sure if he'll contribute or not.  Harty is under contract, but I expect him to get cut.  Davis is the biggest loss but is easily replaced.

 

RB - Cook is a star and could be a superstar if he makes strides in holding onto the ball (fumbles and catches).  The question is who do we have after him?  Hines is under contract, but I suspect he'll be a cap casualty.  Ty Johnson played well but is an FA.  Murray is also an FA, but I don't expect him back. 

 

 

 

WR, WR, Safety, DL, Depth overall in that order. And YES 2 wr's.

[GASabresIUFan]

2 hours ago, SoonerBillsFan said:

WR, WR, Safety, DL, Depth overall in that order. And YES 2 wr's.

I agree about needing 2 WRs because I don't believe Shorter is part of the solution and I think Diggs is gone in two seasons.  

 

However, unless we move back from the 1st or pick up another top 100 pick in trade, I would use one of the 5th on a 2nd WR.  The Bills need both DT and Edge and waiting to the 5th or 6th round would be a mistake.  You can get good to very good WRs in the 5th, such as Shakir to Nucua.  

 

I'd also like to say that I'm also interested in drafting Rosemy-Jacksaint from UGA late.  He was overshadowed in his career at Georgia by Pickens, Bowers, Burton, McConkey, and Mitchell, but is a very good receiver.  He has decent size, runs excellent routes, and has very good hands.  At any other school, he would have been a star player.

[billsfan714]

Everyone doesn't want to hear it, but DL, both DT and DE are the biggest priority.   

[SoonerBillsFan]

19 minutes ago, GASabresIUFan said:

I agree about needing 2 WRs because I don't believe Shorter is part of the solution and I think Diggs is gone in two seasons.  

 

However, unless we move back from the 1st or pick up another top 100 pick in trade, I would use one of the 5th on a 2nd WR.  The Bills need both DT and Edge and waiting to the 5th or 6th round would be a mistake.  You can get good to very good WRs in the 5th, such as Shakir to Nucua.  

 

I'd also like to say that I'm also interested in drafting Rosemy-Jacksaint from UGA late.  He was overshadowed in his career at Georgia by Pickens, Bowers, Burton, McConkey, and Mitchell, but is a very good receiver.  He has decent size, runs excellent routes, and has very good hands.  At any other school, he would have been a star player.

Sitting here today, I wouldn't mind moving back into the high 2nd for another 3rd round pick if we can get it. Take WR there, then use our #28 pick in the 2nd round on say a Safety or DT.