Buffalo Bills RB Jonathan Williams is set to battle for the backup running back job behind LeSean McCoy with Mike Gillislee now a New England Patriot.
Buffalo Bills Insider Chris Brown provides the details. Here is his report:
Here’s the Bills news of note for Tuesday April 25.
1 – Jonathan Williams primed for opportunity
He insisted his approach to the game wouldn’t change regardless of what happened with Mike Gillislee and his offer sheet with the Patriots, but now that his former teammate will continue his career in New England, Jonathan Williams admits he’s excited about what now lies in front of him in Buffalo.
“It’s not going to change my preparation just because he’s not here,” said Williams. “My preparation already had being the best I can be in mind. I’m just excited for the opportunity.”
Williams came in as a less than 100 percent healthy rookie after the Bills made him a fifth-round pick last spring. After missing his senior season with a foot injury, Williams’ foot was still on the mend when he reported for rookie minicamp.
“What a lot of people don’t know is when I came in here, a month before that I couldn’t work out because of my foot,” he said. “I was sitting at home doing upper body lifts. I couldn’t run or cut. So I just came out here for rookie minicamp and did the best I could do. I’m definitely 100 percent healthy now. I feel really good. I’ve been able to get a really good offseason in. I’m a lot healthier than last year and a lot leaner and excited to go.”
Williams figures to have a healthy amount of competition in battling for the backup running back role behind LeSean McCoy, but having limited opportunities to impress a coaching staff is not foreign to him. In college at Arkansas he had to split carries with Razorbacks teammate Alex Collins.
“I’ve always just tried to make the best of what I get. Each carry I get I’m going to go 100 percent,” Williams said of his plans for 2017. “I’m behind a guy that’s probably a future Hall of Famer. He’s still somebody I can learn a lot from. I’m in just my second year and I’m young. I have goals to be a starting running back and be that go to guy, but right now I’m still learning. I’m following the process. I’m working as hard as I can every day to increase my role and hopefully it will happen.”
2 – Kiper says pair of Jones moving up boards
It’s just a couple of days before the start of the 2017 NFL draft and things are looking good for a pair of prospects named Jones. That according to ESPN NFL draft analyst Mel Kiper.
East Carolina WR Zay Jones and N.C. State S Josh Jones are two players getting a late draft boost from the media as round one approaches Thursday.
“When you’re a good football player and you test incredibly well you’re going to move up,” said Kiper. “And Josh Jones played well and tested great. He’s going to be a second-round pick at worst. I wouldn’t be shocked to see him late first, but he’s a solid second-round pick.
“Zay Jones, I’ve said all along he’s a borderline first, early second-round pick. He reminds me a little bit of Hines Ward the way he competes for the football and the way that he blocks. He’s not a guy that’s going to get a ton of separation. He’s not going to outrun people after the catch, but he’s a gamer and he’ll shake off a drop and play hard the next play. He’s a hustler. He loves to play the game. Great bloodlines with his father Robert Jones, a former first-round pick of the Cowboys, a linebacker out of East Carolina.
“Everything points to those two kids having great success in the NFL. If I had to pin it down I’d say both go second round.”
3 – Hughes and Shaq transition back to DE
The Bills are transitioning back to a 4-3 defensive scheme under new head coach Sean McDermott and defensive coordinator Leslie Frazier. That shift means a significant change for Jerry Hughes and Shaq Lawson, who make the transition from outside linebacker to defensive end. Fortunately for both of them they have experience as end in a 4-3.
“We both have some defensive end knowledge since we both played it in college,” said Jerry Hughes, who also played in a 4-3 in his first two seasons in Buffalo and posted back-to-back 10-sacks seasons. “It’s made for a great working relationship for us. We do a lot of fundamental work together. I pick his brain on some of the moves he does and he does the same with me.
“We also push each other. We both want to go out there and be great. We understand we have to play fast and physical and get off the field. So we’re working on turnovers, not only from the sacks standpoint, but also in the run game.”
Hughes is most encouraged by how much the new coaching staff is willing to work with the players until they fully understand specific elements of the new scheme, knowing how much pre-snap confusion there was on defense last season.
“We want to go out there and put our best foot forward,” said Hughes. “We understand we have to iron out those wrinkles as players, but just having the coaches on our side who are spending the time to help us and develop our understanding of their system so we can go out and execute fast.”