Here’s the Bills news of note for May 7.
By Dominic LoVallo / Contributing Correspondent
1 – Bruce Arians sees potential in Josh Allen
It is difficult for almost every person associated with the NFL to have been around at least on franchise quarterback, but Bruce Arians has coached the likes of Peyton Manning, Ben Roethlisberger, Andrew Luck and Carson Palmer throughout his storied coaching career. The former head coach of the Arizona Cardinals joined One Bills Live to give his insight on the Bills first pick of the 2018 draft, Josh Allen.
“I love his size, stature and arm strength,” said Arians. “His accuracy was a problem, but I think working with Jordan Palmer they’ve fixed some of that. But that’s not live bullets. I want to see it in live bullets with a pass rush. But his talent is unbelievable and his upside is probably the best in the draft.”
The Bills selected Allen seventh overall a little over a week ago and one of the newest Bills will report for rookie minicamp on Friday. While Allen is in Buffalo, Arians believes one of the keys to his development will be his relationship with the coaches he will work with for the foreseeable future.
“I think the biggest thing is trusting that relationship,” said Arians. “Whether it’s the head coach – quarterback or the coordinator – quarterback, whoever’s calling the plays and their quarterback, they’ve got to be totally on the same page at all times, and have a trust factor where it’s, ‘Don’t tell me what you think I want to hear. Tell me what you’re seeing, tell me the truth, and then we can build on it.’”
2 – Peter King gives his thoughts on the Bills offseason so far
It started with the signings of Vontae Davis and Chris Ivory. Then moves were made to bring in players like Russell Bodine and Star Lotulelei. Last week, the Bills picked up two players in the first round of the 2018 draft. With all that has happened so far, Peter King of MMQB believes that all the work Brandon Beane has put in to the Bills so far, has gone well.
The entire goal of the offseason was to get the long-term quarterback, and the fact that the Bills worked for 13 months to stockpile enough picks to get in position to do that worked out well. It cost GM Brandon Beane two low second-round picks to move up five spots to get quarterback Josh Allen. We’ll see how that works, but the bonus was getting the uber-athletic Tremaine Edmunds in the first round. But the offensive line continues to be a big need group.
In the case of the offensive line, Sean McDermott has seen improvement and leadership from players like Ryan Groy, and the Bills did take the guard Wyatt Teller in the fifth round of this year’s draft.
3 – Which Bills rookie will be the biggest surprise this season?
With all eight draft picks for the Bills in the books, along with the other 248 picks made in the 2018 NFL Draft, Bleacher Report decided to try and predict the biggest surprises that could end up on each team’s roster this upcoming season.
For the Bills, the second last player drafted in the 2018 draft may be able to make an immediate impact come minicamp. Austin Proehl, a wide receiver out of North Carolina, may be able to fit quickly into a Bills depth chart that went into the draft short on WRs.
As passing games have spread out, collegiate production from offensive skill plays has ballooned over the last decade. It’s uncommon to see prospects enter the league without solid numbers, but that’s why trait-based evaluation is important. The Buffalo Bills were able to select North Carolina slot specialist Austin Proehl with the 255th overall pick because his numbers weren’t up to snuff.
Proehl accumulated just 91 receptions for 1,265 yards and five touchdowns over the course of four years. His most productive season was unsurprisingly with the best quarterback he played with, Mitchell Trubisky in 2016. His savvy and ability to manipulate space in the slot is going to immediately stand out compared to his peers.
Now preparing to wear the same number his dad wore with the Carolina Panthers, Proehl will sport the number 87 as he looks to earn a role with the Bills.