By Nick Wojton / Billswire.usatoday.com
This Bills’ offseason is upon us while the NFL’s final four get after it on championship weekend.
While Buffalo had a successful season in 2019, each and every organization has holes to fill thanks to free agency, retirements and other circumstances. The Bills are no different.
With a big chunk of room under the salary cap – nearly $90 million – the Bills could be making some moves this offseason. What should some of those be?
Here are the Bills’ top-six needs this offseason:
Replace leadership
Over the past few seasons under head coach Sean McDermott, the Bills have been sure to keep their locker room stocked with leaders. First and foremost, there was Kyle Williams. He retired following the 2018 season and linebacker Lorenzo Alexander has followed suit this offseason.
In one way or another, running back Frank Gore might be following Alexander out the door as well. Gore is notably 36 and a pending free agent. He said on locker cleanout day that he still hasn’t decided if he’s going to retire. If the Bills lose both Alexander and Gore, those are two huge leadership voids that need filling.
This offseason, the Bills will have to decide one of two things. Is there potentially a veteran free agent on their radar they can bring in? Or could the answer already be in the locker room? Safeties Micah Hyde and Jordan Poyer could be candidates on defense, while Cole Beasley or John Brown might be qualified candidates on offense, as well. Of course, the first names everyone will jump to are the team’s first-round picks from 2018, Josh Allen and Tremaine Edmunds.
Re-sign Quinton Spain
The Bills can look to improve their offensive line this offseason, but after the massive overhaul a year ago, the better move might be to keep things where they are. While many praise the efforts of Quinton Spain, his season was about average.
Pro Football Focus’ grades are taken with a grain of salt, but Spain notched a 56.1 overall mark in his lone season with the Bills. That was good for their 59th best guard in the NFL this season. Could Buffalo stand to improve from that? Certainly. Per PFF’s grades what hampered Spain was his run blocking, which finished at a lowly 45.7 overall mark.
So why keep Spain then? Last season the Bills brought in four new starters on their offensive line, and including Ty Nsekhe at right guard, five new guys saw some significant playing time in 2019. While plugging in someone new could be an option at Spain’s left guard spot if the Bills don’t re-sign him, that continuity could help the Bills next season. The 2018 offensive line set the bar very low and last year’s group surpassed them easily. But one more offseason together heading into next year can give the Bills a finely-turned and gelled unit that’s even better next season.
Extend 2017 draft picks
The Bills have three players left from their first draft class under McDermott in 2017. Those three guys are pivotal to keep around for the team’s future success.
At the top of the list is cornerback Tre’Davious White. Bills general manager Brandon Beane didn’t comment much on White’s future with the team, but did say “he’s a guy we want here for the long-term” during his end-of-season press conference.
But White might be third in line here. Linebacker Matt Milano and left tackle Dion Dawkins should be the Bills’ first and second priorities, in some order, and likely will be. It’s just the nature of the beast. White, a former first-round pick, has a fifth-year option attached to his contract. The Bills are going to exercise that to keep him around in 2021. As much as it’s important to do that because White’s good, it’s a sign of respect for a team to flex that fifth-year option in recent years.
Milano and Dawkins were not first-rounders, so their contracts are only four-year deals. After 2020, they’re both free agents and the Bills can’t let that happen.
Milano is a big part of Buffalo’s defense and perhaps one of the most underrated linebackers in the league. Dawkins is the only holdover from the 2018 offensive line, but he’s been a promising figure in the unit. Even Pro Football Focus graded him as the 25th-best tackle in the NFL this past season. Keep your young cornerstones.
Find a No. 1 receiver
Thanks for all you do, John Brown and Cole Beasley, but the Bills really ought to find a true No. 1 wide receiver this offseason. It’s been a while since the team had a prospect in this group that gets folks excited. That’s exactly why fringe players from the practice squad, such as Duke Williams, instill so much excitement in the fan base.
The last time the Bills drafted a top wide receiver prospect was in 2014 with Sammy Watkins. He barely lasted in the McDermott-Beane culture and was shipped out quickly. This might be the year to dip back into the draft for a playmaker.
The 2020 NFL draft class of wide receivers has been regarded as a good one for some time now. That doesn’t mean the Bills will target one, though. Beane has repeatedly said during his tenure that he wants to use free agency to put him in a position to take the “best player available” once the draft rolls around. But again, the incoming wideouts are highly touted, so at some point when the Bills are on the clock, a receiver could realistically be their top-rated player and getting someone that could potentially be Josh Allen’s go-to target for years to come is a smart idea.
Of those 2020 prospects, Jerry Jeudy is many folks’ No. 1 guy in the draft, but he likely won’t be around at pick No. 22 in the first round. Other names to watch include Laviska Shenault, CeeDee Lamb, Tee Higgins, Justin Jefferson, and Henry Ruggs, just to name a few.
Figure out what to do with the pass rush
Aside from Quinton Spain, the Bills have two other “bigger fish” among their free agents. Both reside on the defensive line in tackle Jordan Phillips and edge defender Shaq Lawson.
The Bills can stand to improve along their defensive line. While the defense is the Bills’ strength, it’s more due to their stout secondary. Buffalo’s defensive line is by no means bad now, but an upgrade isn’t out of the question.
Phillips led the Bills with 9.5 sacks, while Lawson’s 13 tackles for loss led the team in that category. In a perfect world, the Bills keep both of them and add a top-tier prospect in the draft – which could be possible. But in order to do so, the Bills likely move on from Trent Murphy at defensive end just by the nature of things.
The scenarios here seem endless, but they of course come down to dollars and cents. Both Phillips and Lawson said they’d like to be back, but you can imagine that they’ll at least sniff around free agency. Both have earned the right to do so.
Improve the 1-2 RB punch
Devin Singletary took the NFL by storm this past season. He might even be considered a top rusher in fantasy football next year. But McDermott dropped an interesting nugget during his end-of-season press conference. He said he’s a fan of having a 1-2 punch at running back. The way the Bills operated last season, that checks out.
Until the very end of the year, Frank Gore was still getting carries. But many of them weren’t very successful. If the Bills want to have the 1-2 punch with Singletary involved, a bigger, bruising back could be on their agenda for this offseason. With nine draft picks, the Bills could scoop one up in the later rounds of the upcoming draft, or Buffalo could dip into free agency once again. Gore did his job off the field, but by the end of the season, the Bills could’ve used someone with a quicker step in the backfield.