By Nick Wojton / Billswire.usatoday.com
The Buffalo Bills’ 2019 roster is starting to come together. There still could be additions and there will certainly be subtractions before the season begins in September, but for the most part, the dust has settled.
Entering the third season under head coach Sean McDermott, the Bills are hoping new faces mesh with established players in their locker room in an effort to visit the postseason once again. That mix of young and old has helped solidify the Bills’ roster in various position groups.
With that, here are the three strongest position groups on Buffalo’s current projected roster:
Defensive tackle
With a strong defense still intact for Buffalo heading into 2019, it’s not a surprise the team is deep on that side of the ball. The Bills entered the 2019 offseason with a pretty big hole at defensive tackle after fan favorite Kyle Williams finally hung up his cleats.
In addition, Jordan Phillips was also set to hit free agency. That’s two big spots to replace on a defensive line that head coach Sean McDermott likes to run a big rotation with.
In response, McDermott and general manager Brandon Beane made sure Phillips didn’t go anywhere. He re-signed on a one-year deal. Then the Bills used their first-round pick on Houston defensive tackle Ed Oliver.
Through early spring practices, it’s Phillips who’s starting in Williams’ old spot. But there’s still plenty of time for Oliver to take the role. Regardless, there will be heavy rotation, so both will get in there, as will the rest of the defensive tackle unit. Along with Star Lotulelei and 2018 third-round pick Harrison Phillips, Buffalo has invested heavily in the middle of the defensive line from top to bottom.
Running back
Here’s where some of the new faces start to come into play, and there are plenty of them. There are also plenty of question marks to answer in this position group in training camp, too.
On paper, LeSean McCoy returns as the first name on Buffalo’s running back team sheet. When free agency was all said and done, the Bills added a lot of pieces to offense in particular, but their first signing came as a bit of a surprise when Frank Gore signed on the dotted line. That spelled the end for Chris Ivory in Buffalo.
The Bills were not done adding at the position via free agency, either. The team’s final addition prior to the draft was running back T.J. Yeldon. With McCoy and Gore being 31 and 36, respectively, Yeldon, 25, was viewed as the youthful addition. But the youth got even younger. The Bills then used a third-round pick on FAU rusher Devin Singletary.
And that’s only scratching the surface on “known names.” Adding in more depth pieces plus fullback Patrick DiMarco to the discussion, the Bills have a ton of hands and a finite amount of touches to go around in 2018.
That’s a bit different than things have been in the past as the Bills have been hurt by a lack of depth behind McCoy in recent years. It could be a “good” problem to have, but the battle for touches at the position will be a highlighted training camp battle this summer.
Cornerback
Keeping this list limited to three positions made the final pick tough. The Bills added a lot of pieces on their offensive line, and the safety position appears to have a depth piece or two coming around early this spring as well.
But cornerback gets the final nod. The Bills still have their No. 1 lockdown man in Tre’Davious White. He’s been a starlet for outlets such as Pro Football Focus, as has another Bills DB, Levi Wallace. Both have received early-career high marks from the analytics outlet over the past few seasons.
Buffalo could have realistically headed into next season adding only limited pieces to this group. Instead, the Bills added two pretty big ones in E.J. Gaines and Kevin Johnson.
Gaines is an intriguing option because he had a successful spell with the Bills in 2017 across from White. It’s easy to envision him winning the position battle against Wallace this offseason, but so far it’s being held down by the returner. Johnson, a former first-round pick, can also factor into that battle. But both players have a knock though: they’re a bit injury prone.
Gaines can also play inside at slot cornerback where the Bills have another potential late-round steal in Taron Johnson. In addition, Siran Neal has performed well as the “big nickel” slot cornerback early this spring, but there’s still a long way to go.
But regardless of who wins that battle for the No. 2 spot, the key here is the depth. Buffalo isn’t far removed from Vontae Davis and Phillip Gaines leaving the fan base wondering what the heck is going on. Like running back, if someone goes down (which no one hopes for), the team and fans won’t bat an eye as they’ll know exactly who the next man up is.