Which battle in camp are you watching the closest?

[BuffaloBillyG]

Tis be that time of year. Out with the old and in with the new. With new players come competition. There are several camp battles that are important and should occupy a good amount of talk over the summer. Some of them will be real battles that will determine who is still here week 1...and some will be the low roster message board darlings that fans think have a shot...but in reality are just trying to cling to a bottom roster/PS spot.

 

The ones I'm watching closely :

 

1. IOL: While we see what the pieces are we have no idea how this puzzle comes together. It seems to be Edwards at LG and McGovern at C for this year. But can someone swoop in and take one of those spots? Who's left standing for depth?

 

2. Safety: Buffalo brought back Rapp and went out and signed Mike Edwards. Then drafted Bishop. And the potential of a Hyde return is lurking. But who earns those starting spots, who is that 3rd safety and do any of them earn the weekly 100% of the snaps most games that Hyde/Poyer had in years past?

 

3. PUNTER: One has already fallen as Haack is gone. But coming off a season that had some struggles Sam Martin shouldn't be locked in. He'll have to fend off UDFA Jack Browning, who the Bills signed. Personally, I'm rooting for Browning as he's the cheaper option that can handle kicking duties if needed during the course of a game. 

 

4. ST/KR/PR: With the new kickoff rules in place I'm really looking forward to seeing how teams go about changing what they do here. I've already seen some articles that some teams are considering replacing their kicker on kickoffs due to the possibility of kickers being exposed to injury. There is also the thought process that it takes more than just straight line speed to return kicks now. More shifty and quick in space. 

 

So, what say you? What spots are you paying special attention to?

 

[warrior9]

The safety battle is something I’m interested in but not because I’m worried who starts because I think we’ll be fine no matter what. I’m more interested in that because we’re young there and have a lot of athleticism and I’m intrigued to see who rises to the top and becomes the starters. 
 

I’m most interested in the WR room and seeing how it all shakes out. Where does Brady see Shakiir? What role will he play? What’s the role for Samuel? Is the other outside between Hollins/ MVS? What kind of camp do they have? Did Shorter develop? How does Coleman’s game look at the NFL level? There is a lot of excitement, unknown, and even for a lot on the board, worry about the position. 

[Don Otreply]

Center, left guard, and the O-line as a whole, 

WR and RB groups, (their success relies on the O/line)

The D as a whole, several question marks there. 
Also how we adapt to the new kick off rules, 
 

 

[RiotAct]

I’m interested to see where Elam shakes out.  Can he move himself up the roster at all and be active most gamedays?

[BuffaloBillyG]

26 minutes ago, RiotAct said:

I’m interested to see where Elam shakes out.  Can he move himself up the roster at all and be active most gamedays?

I think Elam is going to surprise a lot of people this year. If he's healthy I expect him to lock down the #3 outside CB role at MINIMUM. Which is important because Benford has shown he gets banged up a bit. 

 

But I really think the "shock" of camp is going to be Elam winning CB2 role and Benford dropping to CB3. 

[Buffalo Boy]

Defensive Backs/CBs and Safeties 

[muppy]

for me it's the trenches on both sides of the ball.  How our new OL will perform . The WR position. 

 

Von Miller I pray has a great camp and season too I'll be watching that for sure.

[FireChans]

I want SVPG to win the center battle asap and move McGovern back to LG. 

[warrior9]

40 minutes ago, FireChans said:

I want SVPG to win the center battle asap and move McGovern back to LG. 

This would be SOOO ideal. Even if he loses by a hair but we're better off with him there and McGovern at LG (which I think we will be)., that should be the play. 

 

Unless SVPG is just atrocious, this should be what we're pushing for. 

[BuffaloBillyG]

1 hour ago, FireChans said:

I want SVPG to win the center battle asap and move McGovern back to LG. 

I agree, I would love to see that. If SVPG is the goods, I believe Dawkins-McGovern-SVPG-Torrence-Brown would be our best 5 on the OL.

 

Problem is I'm thinking we as fans see it being more of a battle than it really is going to be. And this isn't a "McD doesn't play rookies" comment...but it's really rare for any 5th rounder to come in and unseat a vet so quickly in their rookie year. I think ultimately, we get 1 season of McGovern at C and then they let the battle hit next year (may change due to injury). But I'm looking forward to seeing how it actually plays out. 

 

I do think SVPG's best path to start this year may be the result of injury. If McGovern misses time or has to slide to guard to cover an injury and the rookie gets on the field I think he plays well enough to make it harder to take him off and put him back to the bench.

[scuba guy]

I want to see if the new wrestling champ ko's coach.

 

Really can this guy get any good reps just like the ruby player.

[FireChans]

10 minutes ago, BuffaloBillyG said:

I agree, I would love to see that. If SVPG is the goods, I believe Dawkins-McGovern-SVPG-Torrence-Brown would be our best 5 on the OL.

 

Problem is I'm thinking we as fans see it being more of a battle than it really is going to be. And this isn't a "McD doesn't play rookies" comment...but it's really rare for any 5th rounder to come in and unseat a vet so quickly in their rookie year. I think ultimately, we get 1 season of McGovern at C and then they let the battle hit next year (may change due to injury). But I'm looking forward to seeing how it actually plays out. 

 

I do think SVPG's best path to start this year may be the result of injury. If McGovern misses time or has to slide to guard to cover an injury and the rookie gets on the field I think he plays well enough to make it harder to take him off and put him back to the bench.

SVPG isn't really unseating a vet though. If the Bills had Morse as an incumbent starter, that would be different. McGovern has not only not played C for any significant time in the NFL, he also has a history of starting as our LG just last year.

 

All it takes is SVPG to look decent (which hopefully shouldn't be an issue with his experience at GA), and the tentative switch of position for McGovern can be easily reversed.

 

Your point of injury does give a path, but it doesn't have to be that dramatic. If McGovern needs to miss a day or two even in the offseason or TC and SVPG gets to slide in there, that may be enough for him to show.

 

I feel very strongly about him being a starter by the end of the year, and imo I think there's a good chance he's starting week 1. He was, imo, the best pick of our draft.

[Your Brown Eye]

I'm curious over the linebackers, I'll probably be most interested in how things shake out and see if Dorian Williams steps up into a possible starter/future starter role

[Beast]

Wide Receivers. I believe any one of 4 or 5 could end up being our #1 and a couple of those guys that have the chance to be the #1 also have a chance of not making the squad.

[Alphadawg7]

CB:  Can Elam rise up or not is something I’m interested to see.

 

S:  Does Bishop push to start early

 

WR:  More so just want to see if Chase Claypool can play his way up the depth chart to start opposite Keon

 

 

IOL:  Mainly the battle to see who starts at Center

 

Im also excited to see how Carter and Solomon mix in on the DL and what Ray Davis does in the backfield.  

[NoHuddleKelly12]

Almost lost in the shuffle at WR, I’m interested to see if our low key signing of Mack Hollins turns into something more than the equivalent of last year’s Sherffield or Harty, such that he can make some noise to upgrade the bottom half of our WR room and give us usable depth contribution on game days. Giving Josh more options and Brady wrinkles to keep the likes of KC’s Spagnuolo on his heels in must have games would be awesome 👏. 

[Rocky Landing]

I'm interested in a couple battles:

 

WR depth:

I've seen several posters on this site predict that the WR room will look something like:

Coleman, Shakir, Samuel, MVS, Claypool, Hollins.

 

I just don't see it happening like that. At the end of the day, they're not just going to take the best five, or six WRs. This will be the first time Joe Brady gets his offense installed, and the WRs who make it will be the ones who fill certain roles in that offense (plus special teams). In the above list, I would assume Coleman, and Shakir to be locks, and Samuel to be pretty close to a lock. After that it's a battle, and I very much doubt there will be so much redundancy on the roster. If they don't like one of the smaller, speedier guys, like KJ Hamler (my dark horse), or Isabella, they may only carry five. JMO.

 

But looking at how they've been building the roster so far this offseason, it's evident they want size on this unit. So, look at MVS, Hollins, Claypool, Shorter, and Shavers, and pick two.

 

O-Line:

Losing Mitch Morse is still a head-shaker for me. He wasn't really costing us that much. That being said, I do not think the plan of McGovern at center, and Edwards at LG is written in stone. We know that Kromer is going to spend much of training camp looking at different configurations. Van Pran Granger could certainly compete for the center job, and I've been saying for weeks now not to sleep on Will Clapp. I think he's better than people suspect.

 

Beyond that... I know that Brady was working with a system that Dorsey had installed at the end of the season, and this will be his system in '24. BUT... it seemed as though he loved those jumbo packages with a sixth lineman-- he certainly ran them enough! Edwards played that sixth lineman, and reported as an eligible receiver when he did. Of course, he never had the ball thrown his way. If Edwards does end up at LG, who would be that sixth guy? Could it be..... Travis Clayton? OK, I'm just dreamin' here... but come on! 6'7", 300+lb, super athletic, knows how to catch, and run with a ball, ran a 4.79 40... how much fun could that be???

[Ethan in Cleveland]

2 hours ago, FireChans said:

SVPG isn't really unseating a vet though. If the Bills had Morse as an incumbent starter, that would be different. McGovern has not only not played C for any significant time in the NFL, he also has a history of starting as our LG just last year.

 

All it takes is SVPG to look decent (which hopefully shouldn't be an issue with his experience at GA), and the tentative switch of position for McGovern can be easily reversed.

 

Your point of injury does give a path, but it doesn't have to be that dramatic. If McGovern needs to miss a day or two even in the offseason or TC and SVPG gets to slide in there, that may be enough for him to show.

 

I feel very strongly about him being a starter by the end of the year, and imo I think there's a good chance he's starting week 1. He was, imo, the best pick of our draft.

Agree! Start the best 5. If SVPG is just as good or almost as good as McGovern and McGovern is better than Edwards then it should be SVPG from week 1. Why waste a year. The kid played a ton of snaps at Georgia.  He should be plug and play.

 

Dorian Williams - love Milano but he is coming off a bad injury. Would like to see Williams at least split time with Milano early. They need to know if he can play in case they need to part ways with Milano after this year. 

 

[Mr. WEO]

Punter, obvs...

[Special K]

4 hours ago, Don Otreply said:

Center, left guard, and the O-line as a whole, 

WR and RB groups, (their success relies on the O/line)

The D as a whole, several question marks there. 
Also how we adapt to the new kick off rules, 
 

 

Soooooo.......the whole team??😁 

 

I'm interested to see if SVPG can make a push for starting Center, if Cole Bishop cracks the starting lineup right away, and how the WR room shakes out.