By Nick Wojton / Billswire.usatoday.com
The bar is set high for the Buffalo Bills in 2020. In particular, it’s set high for their offense.
After years of the defensive side of the ball leading the way, the stars are aligning for that gap to begin closing. While it’d certainly be a surprise to see the offense hit top-three status like the defense, improvement will be, and should be, expected.
In order to do so, there’s a few guys on the Bills offense that will need to step up next season.
Here’s four of those guys right here:
OL Cody Ford
The Bills are hoping that 2019 second-round pick Cody Ford is their answer at right tackle. So far, hoping is the best they can do. As a rookie, Ford had mixed results, as the team’s offensive line as a whole did as well. The group was better than the year prior, but not great.
Here, we are subscribing to the, “as strong as your weakest link” policy. Ford was pretty good at times, like when facing Broncos pass rusher Von Miller. But for his full-season efforts, up-and-down. Ford ranked as Pro Football Focus’ 73rd best tackle in the NFL last season. Even though that takes both left and right tackles into account… that’s not good. Buffalo’s main backup tackle, Ty Nsekhe, clocked in at a much better 43rd. Might be something to keep in mind early in the season, how long of a leash is there?
RB Devin Singletary
From rookie to the veteran leader, all in one offseason. Entering the league as a third-round pick last year, Devin Singletary surprised many with a strong first season after a slow start and hamstring injury. But very big things are expected of him in 2020. The Bills added another third-round rookie in Zack Moss, and Buffalo is hoping that’s a dynamic one-two punch in their backfield for the foreseeable future. Again, hoping and actual results are a much different thing.
Moss has high hopes entering the NFL, but it’s bold to just expect any rookie to come in and thrive. Even No. 1 overall pick Joe Burrow isn’t going to do that with the Bengals. A year ago the Bills had Frank Gore to spell Singletary and early in the year, he surprised many, playing very well. In 2020, it’s expected Singletary will produce, and he’ll need to, pending any learning curve for Moss.
WR John Brown
The Bills added wide receiver Stefon Diggs this offseason. It knocks John Brown down the depth chart. But because of that, Brown really needs to step up for his team in 2020.
In his first season with the Bills, Brown had a career-year with 1,060 yards and 72 catches. He also added another six touchdowns. Brown did that with No. 1 coverage on him all year in 2019. With Diggs now in the fold, he’s going to garner that type of attention. There’s going to be a trickle-down effect and Brown needs to exploit that No. 2 cornerbacks will now be covering him. Expecting another career-year from Brown shouldn’t be out of the picture.
QB Josh Allen
It’s not a cute addition to the list, it’s a true one. Buffalo quarterback Josh Allen has to be better than ever in his third season. There’s little reason he shouldn’t be.
In 2019, Allen’s scrutinized completion percent jumped from 52.8 to 58.8 percent. The rest of his yards and touchdowns jumped up as well. That went hand-in-hand will all the additions made around him and that needs to happen once again. Allen needs to take advantage of his home run threat in Stefon Diggs, while exploiting that looser coverage on John Brown. Drops will happen, but Allen has to control what he can control and be better, whether that’s his own accuracy, particularly on deep balls, or just simply fixing his turnover, or namely fumbling, issues. A better year from Allen (again) meaning another bigger year for the Bills (also again).