All season, young players have earned the opportunity to play significant minutes. With 6 games to go, expect to see even more young faces get extended time on the field.
By Kyle Silagyi / Contributing Correspondent
Sit back, for a second, and imagine that you’re building a house. While it’s only natural to think about the finished product, you must first lay a strong foundation, a base that will help your home stand tall through any adversity it may encounter.
Though the actual ‘home’ is far from completion, the base that head coach Sean McDermott and general manager Brandon Beane have built in Buffalo is rock solid, a foundation on which the duo hope to build a mansion.
It’s taken McDermott and Beane less than two years to completely revamp the Bills’ roster in their image. Only 12 players on Buffalo’s current 53-man roster were on the team when the two executives arrived in the 2017 offseason.
Included in the duo’s roster overhaul was a youth movement, a concerted effort to get younger at just about every single position. Over the past 20 months, the Bills have acquired franchise players at quarterback, linebacker, and cornerback among other key positions – establishing a young core that Buffalo hopes will ultimately transform the team into a perennial contender.
The Bills’ future is bright, only made brighter by the fact that their foundational players have made immediate impacts.
“I think they just brought us in to just help the team,” said Levi Wallace, an undrafted cornerback who made his NFL debut in Week 10. “They do a good job of drafting here and bringing in undrafted guys. Hats off to the coaching staff, just getting us in the right positions to make plays.”
Wallace is just one of a myriad of young players who have carved out roles for themselves in Buffalo’s lineup. Seven first-or-second year players started for the Bills’ in their Week 10 matchup with the Jets. First and second year players have played approximately 34 percent of the team’s snaps this season – that percentage is the fourth-highest total in the NFL through Week 10.
Consistently hitting on draft picks has allowed Buffalo to build up its young core. Five out of the six players that the Bills selected in the 2017 draft, McDermott’s first at the helm of the team, entered the 2018 campaign with starting roles. Five of the players that Buffalo landed in the 2018 draft have started games for the team this season.
Buffalo’s current lineup is a who’s who of young talent with tremendous upside. Josh Allen, the 22-year-old with a strong arm and limitless ceiling, tops the team’s depth at quarterback. If you look at his offensive line, you’ll see Dion Dawkins and Wyatt Teller manning the left side, two recent draft picks that have already earned starting roles.
If you focus on the receiving corps, you’ll see a young, hungry group that has stepped up in recent weeks. Zay Jones, whom the Bills selected in the second round of the 2017 draft, is currently experiencing a breakout sophomore campaign, leading the team in receptions (37) and receiving yards (392) through 10 games.