By Nick Wojton / Billswire.usatoday.com
The Bills and Panthers had two days of joint practices earlier this week on Tuesday and Wednesday and they’ll have a third meeting on Friday when the two sides meet in the second week of the NFL’s preseason in Charlotte.
Following the first week of the preseason against the Colts and the team’s departure from St. John Fisher College, several players on the Bills have started to grab some attention. Will these select players take a step forward or step back in Week 2?
With that, here are eight players to watch for during Buffalo’s second preseason contest on Friday:
WR Isaiah McKenzie
Against the Colts, nobody stood out more in terms of playmakers than Isaiah McKenzie. After coming to Buffalo in the middle of the season last year, he’s started to emerge as an early favorite for a depth receiver spot. McKenzie was impressive against Indy, catching both of his target and gaining chunks of yardage, 62 in total. That led the team.
Not only that, Andre Roberts was brought in for his kick return prowess, but McKenzie had a nice 15-yard gainer on a punt return, too. Could he solidify his role as Buffalo’s punt returner? The more a player like McKenzie can do, the better.
WR Robert Foster
Foster’s an interesting case. He had some pretty good routes ran against the Colts, but only caught one of his four targets for 14 yards. However, on one play in particular, Foster noticeably burned a defender downfield and upon review, his diving catch was overturned. Despite the so-so game, Foster saw plenty of first-team reps during practice this week, according to reports. He’s likely to hold a roster spot heading into the regular season, but is that a depth role or feature role? A few grabs against the Panthers could help him.
TE Tommy Sweeney
Sweeney is a very curious case as of late. When the Bills were first riddled with injuries at the tight end position during camp, Sweeney had some good run with the first-team offense. As of late, it’s been a bit more spotty for him. During practices this week against the Panthers, he’s had a few dropped balls which won’t help his stock and he also didn’t haul in his only target last week against the Colts.
Sweeney is a seventh-round pick and his a big opportunity with Jason Croom, Dawson Knox and Tyler Kroft all still battling injuries. Until those guys are 100 percent, which might be soon for some of them, there’s a window for Sweeney but he has to capitalize against the Panthers.
OL Cody Ford
Ford’s case just got intriguing as of Wednesday. But starting against the Colts, the offensive line is a position where, if you don’t stand out, that’s likely good. Ford didn’t, except for one time when he was beat relatively bad while playing guard as he was bull-rushed right into his own backfield. But c’mon, it was his first NFL game, even we’ll cut him some slack.
Looking forward, it appears Ford will be on Buffalo’s starting line, but who knows where? He’s played both guard and tackle during the summer and most recently, the Bills missed Ty Nsekhe during Wednesday’s practice, which caused Ford to kick back to tackle. Let’s see which position we get on Friday since the coaching staff will want to solidify his role ASAP.
CB Captain Munnerlyn
While only on the practice field for three days, Munnerlyn is not only a veteran, he’s a veteran of Sean McDermott’s defense. He knows the scheme so he’ll probably be able to play. Not only that, where will he play?
On Wednesday during practice, Munnerlyn was already seeing time with the first-team defense, playing in Taron Johnson’s nickel role. Johnson performed well as a rookie, but if there’s an upgrade, there’s an upgrade. Could Munnerlyn provide a better option there? Or, as some pointed out, were the Bills just rotating defensive backs on that side of the ball because of the heat during practice? Watch out for Kevin Johnson on the outside as well, he was also rotating with Tre’Davious White and Levi Wallace on Wednesday.
RB Devin Singletary
What an interesting game Singletary played against the Colts. The rookie was Buffalo’s leading rusher with 27 yards, but he only averaged three yards per carry, you’d like to see that higher. Still, he impressed, and did so as a receiver, something Singletary didn’t do in college.
On Friday, Buffalo head coach Sean McDermott said LeSean McCoy will play. But Frank Gore, who started last week, only had two carries. So how will thing pan out? If Singletary has another good showing, it wouldn’t be a shock for fans to start clamoring for him to get plenty of touches, perhaps more than all, during the regular season.
DE Darryl Johnson
Something about these seventh-round picks this year…
Johnson might’ve made Eli Harold expendable this week when he was shipped to the Eagles by Buffalo’s front office because he certainly surprised some folks with his play against the Colts. He had three total tackles, plus an impressive sack, albeit in a depth role.
Johnson will only battle for a roster spot, not a starting role, but he was thought of much more as a practice squad guy when drafted. Instead, he could slide on the roster as this week during practice, he reportedly was playing with the second-team defense.
QB Josh Allen
Well… of course.
Allen was OK last week. He didn’t run a ton, but he didn’t complete a ton of passes, either. There was one big drop by Zay Jones at the goal line when Allen put the ball on the money. Having said that, Allen also had some passes in receivers’ feet. It’s the inconsistencies like that which drive you crazy with him.
In total against the Colts, Allen was 6-for-11 passing for 66 yards. Search for an improvement in the accuracy, but it’ll be frustrating that Mitch Morse likely will not play once again at center. He’s a big piece.