Trading in Rex Ryan for new head coach Sean McDermott is an upgrade for the Buffalo Bills all by itself. Ryan took a team with a winning record on the cusp of the playoffs and completely ran them into the ground. His inability to put together an NFL roster is only proven by the sheer number of free agents the Bills let go that no NFL team has signed.
McDermott and new general manager Brandon Beane had their work cut out for them this offseason. Let’s take a look at how they did.
Free Agents Kept
Lorenzo Alexander, Outside Linebacker
Jordan Mills, Offensive Tackle
Colton Schmidt, Punter
Brandon Tate, Wide Receiver
Corey Washington, Wide Receiver
Free Agents Gained
Joe Banyard, Running Back, formerly of the Jacksonville Jaguars
Jeremy Butler, Wide Receiver, formerly of the Los Angeles Chargers
Ryan Davis, Linebacker, formerly of the Dallas Cowboys
Patrick DiMarco, Fullback, formerly of the Atlanta Falcons
Vladimir Ducasse, Offensive Guard, formerly of the Baltimore Ravens
Steven Hauschka, Kicker, formerly of the Seattle Seahawks
Micah Hyde, Safety, formerly of the Green Bay Packers
Leonard Johnson, Defensive Back, formerly of the Carolina Panthers
Mike Tolbert, Fullback, formerly of the Carolina Panthers
Jordan Poyer, Safety, formerly of the Cleveland Browns
Free Agents Lost
Zach Brown, Inside Linebacker, signed with the Washington Redskins
Stephon Gilmore, Cornerback, signed with the New England Patriots
Marquise Goodwin, Wide Receiver, signed with the San Francisco 49ers
Justin Hunter, Wide Receiver, signed with the Pittsburgh Steelers
Lerentee McCray, Linebacker, signed with the Jacksonville Jaguars
Nickel Robey-Coleman, Defensive Back, signed with the Los Angeles Rams
Garrison Sanborn, Long Snapper, signed with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Robert Woods, Wide Receiver, signed with the Los Angeles Rams
Mike Gillislee, RB, signed with the New England Patriots
Dan Carpenter, Kicker, currently a free agent
Gerald Christian, Tight End, currently a free agent
Marcus Easley, Wide Receiver, currently a free agent
Corey Graham, Safety, currently a free agent
Phillip Thomas, Defensive Back, currently a free agent
Aaron Williams, Safety, currently a free agent
2017 NFL Draft
Round 1: Tre’Davious White, Cornerback, LSU
Round 2: Zay Jones, Wide Receiver, East Carolina
Round 2: Dion Dawkins, Offensive Guard, Temple
Round 5: Matt Milano, Linebacker, Boston College
Round 5: Nathan Peterman, Quarterback, Pittsburgh
Round 6: Tanner Vallejo, Linebacker, Boise State
Proposed Offensive Starters
QB: Tyrod Taylor
RB: LeSean McCoy
WR: Sammy Watkins
WR: Zay Jones
WR: Brandon Tate
TE: Charles Clay
LT: Cordy Glenn
RT: Dion Dawkins
LG: Richie Incognito
RG: John Miller
C: Eric Wood
Offensive Outlook
The Bills’ wide receivers were absolutely raided in free agency, so it’s difficult to not see this group as a downgrade. Zay Jones is a rookie and Brandon Tate is sliding into the Marquise Goodwin slot, a slot that Goodwin only really maximized last year. Sammy Watkins, when healthy, is an elite wide receiver but the Bills don’t trust him to stay that way, which is why they declined his fifth-year option.
Throwing the ball to this group of receivers is Tyrod Taylor. The team had a chance to move on from Taylor this season, but reworked his contract so they could at least ride him another season while looking for an actual quarterback of the future. They did draft a guy, Nathan Peterman, and frankly I wouldn’t be surprised to see him get in some games at the end of the season.
LeSean McCoy remains the Bills best offensive weapon and he has one of the better offensive lines in the league to run behind. The left side of Cordy Glenn and Richie Incognito is as solid as any unit you’ll find.
Proposed Defensive Starters
DE: Shaq Lawson
DE: Jerry Hughes
DT: Marcell Dareus
DT: Kyle Williams
OLB: Ramon Humber
OLB: Lorenzo Alexander
ILB: Reggie Ragland
CB: Ronald Darby
CB: Tre’Davious White
FS: Jordan Poyer
SS: Micah Hyde
Defensive Outlook
There’s little question defense is the strength of this team going into the season. McDermott will convert Ryan’s 3-4 into the 4-3 defense he ran with the Carolina Panthers and has added the players, especially in the secondary to make that transition easier. Tre’Davious White should step right in to Stephon Gilmore’s spot on the defense. While that will probably mean a drop off in year one, White looks to me like the real deal.
The team will lose its best pressure guy in the backfield in Lorenzo Alexander. In a 4-3 scheme, he won’t be rushing the passer nearly as much and his 12.5 sacks led the team by a wide margin. No other player had more than six sacks and that was Jerry Hughes. The team might be better served switching Alexander to defensive end and Shaq Lawson to outside linebacker. There’s some real work to be done here to create a consistent rush. The team has an abundance of linebackers now, with Preston Brown probably riding the bench a lot even though he was the team’s No. 2 tackler next season.
Grade: C+
The Bills only lost talent on an offense in dire need of keeping what little it had. What keeps this grade from a C- is simply the addition of McDermott in place of Ryan. There’s no way they’ll be worse.
O/U wins: 5.5
Preseason Schedule
Week 1: Minnesota Vikings
Week 2: at Philadelphia Eagles
Week 3: at Baltimore Ravens
Week 4: Detroit Lions
Key game: There’s a real chance the Bills could open 2017 0-4, so a Lions team at home coached by Jim Caldwell could be just what they need to avoid a complete first-month disaster.
Regular Season Schedule
Week 1: New York Jets
Key game: There aren’t a lot of wins on this schedule, but the Jets have the worst roster in the NFL and shouldn’t be able to play on the same field as anyone, even this version of the Bills.
Week 2: at Carolina Panthers
Week 3: Denver Broncos
Week 4: at Atlanta Falcons
Week 5: at Cincinnati Bengals
Week 6: BYE
Week 7: Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Week 8: Oakland Raiders
Week 9: at New York Jets
Week 10: New Orleans Saints
Week 11: at Los Angeles Chargers
Week 12: at Kansas City Chiefs
Week 13: New England Patriots
Week 14: Indianapolis Colts
Week 15: Miami Dolphins
Week 16: at New England Patriots
Week 17: at Miami Dolphins
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