By Nick Wojton / Billswire.usatoday.com
The 2020 NFL Draft has passed.
The Buffalo Bills made their picks and have a whole new slew of players joining their team. So of course there’s some things to consider.
Here are 10 takeaways from the Bills’ work at the 2020 draft:
Bring AJ along slowly
AJ Epenesa started things off for the Bills in terms of players picked. As a second-round pick that had a Day 1 grade from many draft analysts and outlets alike, Epenesa could come to Orchard Park and make a near immediate impact.
But don’t expect it.
Epenesa enters a veteran room. At the top is Jerry Hughes and Mario Addison. Both of those guys have some juice left in the tank, but they’re veterans and well over 30 already. Epenesa will see the field, just not as much. Buffalo head coach Sean McDermott runs a rotation along his defensive line, with the starters seeing about a 60-70 percent of snaps in games. Epenesa will get the opposite and then in the future will be in-line for more. No pressure for the rookie to produce right away.
Trent could be gone
Where the pressure does reside is with Trent Murphy. His defensive end spot could be gone. After signing a three-year deal with the Bills worth a hearty $22.5 million, Murphy hasn’t produced. Buffalo was hoping to get the nine-sack season he had in 2016. Instead he only has nine sacks over the course of his Bills career.
Murphy is set to have a $9.75 million cap hit next season. His dead cap hit would only be $1.75M. That’s a big savings for the Bills that they’ll certainly be considering. It would not be surprising to see Murphy in training camp with the Bills and it won’t be shocking if he’s cut by the team at the end of it. Along with Epenesa, Hughes and Addion, the Bills have Quinton Jefferson and Daryl Johnson to consider. The Bills likely wouldn’t be able to trade him.
The lone Day 1 impact
About the entirety of the Bills’ 2020 draft class is aimed toward the future. The lone Day 1 impact will be Zack Moss. Don’t forget about Devin Singletary, but also don’t forget that at times, especially early in the year in 2019, Frank Gore had a massive impact in games. Getting more snaps than Singletary at times, especially near the goal line. That could be the case with Moss as well. Aside from Epenesa, wideouts Gabriel Davis and Isaiah Hodgins, plus quarterback Jake Fromm, are all candidates for the future or depth. Unless it’s special teams or Moss, these Bills rookies won’t have their names heard much in 2020. But they’ll get out there a little.
Could Bills keep 3 QBs?
Speaking of Fromm, his addition was the most surprising among them all. Fromm joins a Bills QB room which includes Josh Allen, Matt Barkley and Davis Webb, who spent last season on the practice squad.
That raises some curious questions.
What should the Bills do? Of course, things will have to play out on the field, but this smells like Barkley vs. Fromm for QB2 situation. If that’s the case, could the Bills keep all three quarterbacks instead of just two like they have in recent seasons? In 2017 and 2018, the Bills got burned in this area and got down to their third-string quarterback or even deeper. Allen was relatively healthy for most of last season, but it wouldn’t be a bad idea to keep three. We’ll see what they decide.
Trusting the tape
One thing was pretty clear, Buffalo general manager Brandon Beane trusted the tape with this draft class. Almost everyone the team took had at least a below average scouting combine workout, from Fromm’s hand size to plenty of slow 40 times. In fact, only Davis had a positive workout, proving he’s faster than his size shows. This isn’t just a pandemic thing, either. The combine and a lot of workouts were beforehand. Beane and Buffalo’s scouting department trusted what these guys did in games instead, keeping the big picture in mind.
Bills stay put
With Beane in mind, let’s talk trades. Or a lack thereof.
Buffalo didn’t move around the board at all. Maybe the virtual draft played a part, but it was a bit surprising to see the Bills stay put. In the first two drafts under Beane and McDermott, the Bills were all over the place making moves. This year? None.
Beane did say he tried, though. At one point, he said he wanted to trade up to take Moss. Instead, he didn’t and Moss fell anyway. Lucky.
Then Beane said he tried to move up, but the guy he wanted was selected. Would be curious to know who that was. But even though the Bills didn’t make a move, they still got some quality in their draft class. Maybe this will have a future impact on how Buffalo operates at the draft.
Banking on OL
In the draft the Bills, position wise, went defensive end, running back, receiver, quarterback, receiver, kicker and cornerback. Aside from Epenesa, no guys for the trenches and none for the offensive side. That’s worth noting.
The Bills are banking on their offensive line’s continuity to help the group improve in 2020. It’s a smart enough plan, we’ll just have to see if it pays off. All of their starters will be back next season. Hopefully it’s not short-sighted.
The Bills line with Dion Dawkins, Quinton Spain, Mitch More, Jon Feliciano and a mix of Cody Ford and Ty Nsekhe was an improvement last season. That doesn’t mean they were great, though. The team’s line was terrible in 2018 and the bar was very low. There’s room for improved play.
Finally some size
Maybe Beane really was sick of hearing McDermott call his receivers smurfs like he joked about after the draft. But more seriously, he finally realized that size probably matters, or would help. In Davis and Hodgins, the Bills wideout room is now stocked full of it.
It’s needed for the obvious. It helps in the red zone and it’s good to have a guy that can go up and get the ball.
The top-three in 2020 will be Stefon Diggs, John Brown and Cole Beasley. Davis is the frontrunner for a spot in there and then the rest is a roll of the dice. Hodgins will likely have to help on special teams, but having said that he’ll have a big fight there, too. Isaiah McKenzie, Duke Williams and Robert Foster will be in the battle for a spot. In recent years the Bills have kept five receivers out of training camp, typically. So there’s many bodies for likely one spot. Could size make a difference?
Future needs
So where do the Bills go from here?
Buffalo doesn’t really have any needs or concern areas. They didn’t have any entering the draft. So what’s left to worry about? To name a spot on both sides of the ball: tight end and cornerback.
The Bills brought in Greg Olsen on a free agent visit. While his addition could’ve just been a veteran leadership type one, he still would have taken plenty of snaps. Plus, incumbent starter Dawson Knox does have some concerns with his hands. He has to improve there and the Bills could stand to bring some competition in.
If EJ Gaines and Josh Norman stay healthy in 2020, there’s no cornerback need next season. But Dane Jackson was Buffalo’s seventh-round pick. There’s a chance he doesn’t even make the final roster. Eventually the Bills could stand to use a long-term option if Levi Wallace isn’t that across from Tre’Davious White.
Pressure on Allen?
There’s a lot to consider here. Barkley was never going to push Allen. Maybe Fromm never does, either. But still, he’s a younger, unproven option. Even if he’s a fifth-round pick, if Allen is struggling in a year or two, is there pressure to give Fromm a shot one day? The backup goalie and quarterback is always the most popular guy in town.
Plus, there’s all the additions to consider. Allen has struggled in his past, as young quarterbacks often do. All those other times there were excuses relating to the people around him. The talent on Buffalo’s offense is there now. Allen has to play better in both the short and long term. No more excuses.