Buffalo capped their draft on Saturday with three offensive players and two defensive players. Here’s what we learned about the Bills 2018 draft class.
By Dominic LoVallo / Contributing Correspondent
1 – The QB competition is open
When Sean McDermott announced at the owners meeting that there would be an open competition for the quarterback job in Buffalo, he meant it. Now that the draft is over, and Josh Allen has been added to the pool of candidates, nothing has change.
So now begins the process of observing and evaluating who will lead the Bills onto the field Week 1. When it comes to Josh Allen however, the Bills are in no hurry.
“We’re not going to rush him, but if Josh somehow wins the job he wins it,” said Brandon Beane of the impending competition. “There will be 52 other players out there and if they see that he’s clearly the best, I don’t think we could stand in the way of that. We wouldn’t do that at any other position. We’d let it go. He’s got a lot of catching up to do. That’s the thing. AJ (McCarron) and Nathan (Peterman) are a long way ahead just getting in here with (offensive coordinator) Brian (Daboll) when the offseason conditioning program started.”
McDermott added that more than what is seen on the field will go into his final decision of the Bills new number one QB.
“For any position it’s the total evaluation, not just what happens on the field,” said McDermott. “That’s the final product if you will. The results part of it is important and is valued highly, but it’s also about what’s going on in the process and the meeting rooms and the weight room. We look at everything and evaluate everything. We compete with everything we do and the players know that.
“There are clear expectations around what we do and how we do things and how it’s supposed to look every day and the standard we’ve created here. Whether it’s quarterback or any other position, we evaluate everything.”
2 – An urgency to win, but a methodical process
The Bills understand it might be premature to be in a win-now situation, but that doesn’t mean the process that fans are being told to trust is behind schedule. McDermott explained that there is an urgency to everything he and Beane are doing.
“The process continues. It is an urgent approach, very much so,” said McDermott. “We all understand how this league works. We’ve been around it a long time. I think if you take an understanding that the process takes some time if you do it the right way. And when I’m talking about that, I’m talking about making good personnel decisions, money decisions. But that doesn’t mean the approach isn’t an urgent approach every day.
“You’ve heard me say this before, our store didn’t close for the offseason. This was a time for us to improve and get better. But we want to get better through the right channels, through the right approach, and I believe that we’ve done that. And like Brandon said, it’s been a total team effort.”
3 – Versatility a theme with Bills draft picks
It has been said every day of the draft. Whether it’s the first round or day 3, the Bills want players who offer position flexibility.
Every player the Bills selected on day 3 has the ability to slide around the depth chart. Wyatt Teller has played guard and tackle. Ray-Ray McCloud returns punts along with being a wide receiver, and Siran Neal played linebacker, safety and cornerback. Taron Johnson played on the boundary and in the slot at cornerback.
“Most of the time, if I’m following a receiver, that’s when I would go on the inside,” said Johnson during his conference call after being selected in the fourth round by the Bills. “When I was at the Senior Bowl, I played a lot of nickel as well, just to show I could be pretty versatile.”
4 – Iron sharpens Iron
It’s been something you could expect Sean McDermott to say from time to time, but the Bills newest member of the offensive line, Wyatt Teller said exactly that after being picked in the fifth round. He said it because fellow Hokie, Tremaine Edmunds, was drafted to Buffalo in the first round.
“Iron truly sharpens iron, and you know, Tremaine is a great player,” said Teller. “I’m excited to join him. It’s going to be nice having someone going through the same things as me.”
Teller is looking forward to bringing his drive and competitiveness to One Bills Drive.
“It’s all about competition, and I know how Bills fans are,” said Teller. “I know they’re literally the greatest fans in the nation, so I’m excited to see them screaming and yelling every day, every Sunday. I’m ready to get in there.”
5 – Where they’ll line up
With the eight players the Bills have drafted, here is a quick overview on where the Bills will position their new versatile draft picks to compete for a spot on the roster per Sean McDermott and Brandon Beane.
Josh Allen – open QB competition
Tremaine Edmunds – middle Linebacker
Harrison Phillips – defensive tackle
Taron Johnson – nickel corner
Siran Neal – safety, but will be evaluated during minicamp
Wyatt Teller – guard
Ray-Ray McCloud – wide receiver, return candidate
Austin Proehl – slot receiver