Some on the list will surprise you.
By Nick Wojton / Billswire.usatoday.com
The Buffalo Bills haven’t had things go according to plan in 2018.
They’re fresh off a big 41-10 win over their divisional rival, the New York Jets. However, the team still sits at 3-7 overall.
Having said that, the Bills have already made it obvious, despite saying they’re not tanking, they’re certainly looking toward the future.
Plenty of young and potentially impact players have been interesting to watch or will be interesting to watch following their bye week this weekend. On the flip side, some veteran players might have to find a way into the team’s future plans.
With that, here’s 16 players that will be intriguing players to watch for the remainder of the season on the Bills, after the bye:
CB Levi Wallace
Wallace is a surprise player to this list, but he’s on it for good reason. The Bills called him up from the practice squad prior to facing the Jets. No one was all that surprised a struggling Phillip Gaines got released, but most were surprised when Wallace started over Ryan Lewis, who previously started earlier in the season. Furthermore, he was the only Bills defender to play every single snap.
Wallace’s position has been the lone weak spot on the Bills defense this year and for once the cornerback across from Tre’Davious White had a good game. According to Pro Football Focus, he earned a strong 74.8 grade in coverage vs. the Jets. Can he keep it up?
DE Shaq Lawson
Lawson has had a recently rejuvenation in his career. Since being a first-round pick of the Bills at the 2016 draft, he’s played well as a run defender. But defensive ends get drafted that high for their pass rush skills. That’s where he needs to improve. Lawson’s done better against the pass this season and even had a sack against the Jets. His single-season career-high for sacks is four. If he’s healthy the remaining six games of the season, look for him to try to break that. He currently has two.
DT Harrison Phillips
Buffalo’s third-round pick in 2018 was drafted to essentially replace Kyle Williams in the future. While no one wants to see it happen, Williams will eventually walk-off into the sunset and retire. It could be after this season, despite still preforming at a high level. The former tackling-machine at Stanford has 21 tackles and a fumble recovery in a rotational role behind Williams through 10 games. Will the Bills start to hand the reigns over to Phillips a bit more after the bye? Will be exciting to see him get his first-career sack, too.
DE Trent Murphy
Here’s your first veteran of the list. The reason Lawson has had the opportunity to flourish is because Murphy’s continued to struggle with injuries in his first season with the Bills. After losing his entire 2017 season with Washington (ACL), he signed with the Bills and had a groin injury early and has missed the past three games with a knee injury. In only seven games this season, Murphy is doing well when he plays as he has three sacks. So if he gets back out there, watch to see if he can stay out there.
OL Wyatt Teller
Before the bye week Teller made his first-career start against the Jets after seeing time in a secondary role against the Chicago Bears two weeks ago. The Bills have plenty of holes on the offensive line to fill this offseason and if one can get filled before the offseason even begins? That’d be fantastic for general manager Brandon Beane.
The fifth-round rookie for the Bills has gone in two directions during his play so far. Against the pass, he’s dominant. Against the run, a little to be desired. Along with a huge pancake block against the Jets, Teller has earned a 78.7 pass blocking grade so far, per PFF. Against the run he’s only graded at a 54.7.
OL John Miller
Of the other holes in the offensive, Miller is an interesting one to watch. First off, he’s one of the last players left on the Bills roster who was drafted by former GM Doug Whaley. But, the Bills used Teller to replace Vlad Ducasse, a Beane guy. So what will they do with Miller in the future? Can he make himself a case to stick around as the starter? Like most on the Bills’ offensive line, he can pass protect pretty well. Against the run, he has to improve. His 76.3 pass blocking grade from PFF helps his case while his 62.1 run blocking grade does not.
LB Tremaine Edmunds
Edmunds has proven to be an athletic beast for the Bills at their middle linebacker spot. Aside from missing a game with a concussion, Edmunds has essentially played almost every other snap for the Buffalo defense this year. Against the run, Edmunds has preformed well. He leads the Bills in tackles with 70 despite missing time. But at times, the rookie hasn’t adjusted well to pass coverage at the NFL level yet. That’s where he needs to improve.
LB Matt Milano
Under the radar because of the first-round pick in Edmunds playing next to him, Milano is turning into a stud of a linebacker. The former fifth-round pick in 2017 has excelled this season at just about everything a linebacker does. Against the pass, he’s shut down the likes of Rob Gronkowski. He’s tied for the team lead in interceptions with two, too. A strong finish to the season should give the Bills and their fans some confidence for the potential to have a linebacking duo could eventually be one of the best in the NFL.
LB Lorenzo Alexander
Speaking of Buffalo’s linebackers, they have one more. Alexander isn’t like the other two, though. He’s up there at 35. However, if Alexander wants to come back the Bills should welcome him with open arms. First, he’s a team leader and Buffalo head coach Sean McDermott loves that. Second, he’s played a hell of a game this season, particularly as a pass rusher. He’s even lined up as a defensive end at times. His 4.5 sacks this season are second on the Bills (Jerry Hughes – 5.5) and PFF graded him as the fifth-best edge rusher in the entire NFL heading into Week 10. Can Alexander continue to find the fountain of youth and come back for another year?
WR Ray-Ray McCloud
At the wide receiver position in particular, the Bills appear to have a youth movement en route. The team released 29-year-old wideout Terrelle Pryor on Tuesday in a surprise move. McCloud should see a few more snaps the rest of the way because of that. In addition, they also brought Isaiah McKenzie in as a returner. What kind of opportunities will the sixth-round rookie get for the remainder of the year? Has he already played himself out of a future role?
RB LeSean McCoy
Yeah, even Shady is on here.
McCoy, 30, is fresh off his best game of the season with 113 rushing yards and two touchdowns. That’s the McCoy of old. But who’s the McCoy of new? Is it the same as the old Shady or the one who averaged one yard-per-carry the prior two games? According to reports, Beane didn’t want to trade McCoy at the 2018 trade deadline cause he sees him finishing out his contract in Buffalo next year. But is that a good idea? What’s he got left in the tank? Let’s see over the final six.
TE Charles Clay
During Clay’s entire tenure in Buffalo since 2015, the Bills have never had much of a passing game. It hasn’t helped his stats. But for Bills standards, he’s actually put up decent numbers every year, finishing first or second in catches or yards. That is not the tale of 2018, though. In nine games, Clay has only 19 catches for 168 yards with no touchdowns. In his eight-year career, he’s never not scored in a season.
Clay is currently battling a hamstring injury and hasn’t played in two weeks. Perhaps if he returns, he can get things going. This offseason he has a manageable $4.5 million dead cap hit for 2019. That’s do-able for the Bills who will have nearly $90 million in cap space. Could they move on from Clay?
WR Robert Foster
Woah, where’d that come from? Against the Jets, Foster was Buffalo’s first 100-yard receiver in 19 games dating back to Deonte Thompson last season. The undrafted rookie had 105 yards on three catches in total. Overall, Foster did well what he didn’t do good before: track and catch the ball. On several deep shots from Matt Barkley, Foster went up and found the ball, even if it wasn’t in a perfect position.
Foster’s fast. That’s what Buffalo needs. If he can be their speed guy moving forward, that’d address a big need for the future.
WR Zay Jones
Hidden a bit behind Foster’s 105 yards, Jones had a career-high of 93 yards himself with eight catches on 11 targets with a touchdown. That’s No. 1 receiver numbers for Jones. He did still have a bad fumble diving for the end zone, but Jones’ performance wasn’t out of no where like Foster’s. He’s continually improved in his second season.
Buffalo needs to still add to their WR room this offseason, but most great NFL offenses have multiple big-name targets. Jones filling a No. 2 role as a second-round pick is a must for the Bills’ future success. Look for him to continue to take steps in the right direction.
WR Kelvin Benjamin
And now to the opposite direction… there’s not much to say about Benjamin that hasn’t been said. He doesn’t have NFL speed, at times he looks like he’s checked out of games mentally, and the one reason you can fathom the Bills didn’t cut him instead of Pryor was because he’s two years younger (27). Benjamin only has 20 catches for 302 yards and one touchdown this season. He’s steadily been the Bills’ No. 2 option all year behind Jones and just hasn’t taken advantage of it. Can he do anything to change the minds of Bills fans in the final six games?
QB Josh Allen
Why get fancy here? If he’s healthy, he’s playing McDermott said. Despite Barkley’s heroics, that’s the right move.
Analysis: Allen, are you the franchise QB or not?