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2024 Bills Training Camp: 3 offensive position battles to watch

The new look Bills offense will be an interesting watch, and these battles will help determine who is starting and who is not come September.
McKenna Middlebrook|
Mar 3, 2024; Indianapolis, IN, USA; Georgia offensive lineman Sedrick Van Pran-Granger (OL69) during
Mar 3, 2024; Indianapolis, IN, USA; Georgia offensive lineman Sedrick Van Pran-Granger (OL69) during | Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

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The Buffalo Bills offense is currently in flux; the likes of Stefon Diggs, Gabe Davis, and Mitch Morse have all left the team either via trade or free agency. This means there are plenty of battles to watch when training camp kicks off in Rochester this summer. 

C: Sedrick Van Pran-Granger vs. Connor McGovern 

The Bills lost their starting center, Mitch Morse, in free agency over the offseason. Morse was an instant plug-and-play starter for the Bills and helped the development of Josh Allen thanks to his consistent play while in Buffalo. Now that he’s gone, who will replace him - starting guard Connor McGovern or rookie Sedrick Van Pran-Granger? 

McGovern started 17 games at left guard for Buffalo last season where he excelled, especially in pass protection. According to PFF, McGovern played the sixth most snaps out of any guards in the NFL last season while allowing just two sacks. So why is he battling at center when he played guard last season? He played a lot of the position throughout his collegiate career and has taken some snaps there as a professional; given the offseason departures of both Morse and Ryan Bates, he's the team's most experienced option at center.

Then there is rookie Sedrick Van Pran-Granger. Van Pran-Granger has plenty of high-level experience due to the fact that he started for three seasons at Georgia and won two National Championships. GM Brandon Beane called him an ‘alpha dog’ in the Bills Embedded YouTube series, and you can see that alpha dog demeanor on the field. He has a great motor, he's incredibly physical, and moves well when reaching the second level of defense. 

We’re going to give the first nod to rookie Sedrick Van Pran-Granger. Firstly, this isn’t a knock on McGovern, while he is versatile, he’s a better fit at left guard. Van Pran-Granger is a natural center, and the Bills have shown that they’re willing to start rookies on the line under the Beane-McDermott regime with the likes of O’Cryus Torrence, Cody Ford, and Spencer Brown all getting plenty of minutes in their rookie year.

Curtis Samuel vs. Khalil Shakir

Did you hear that the Buffalo Bills traded away one of their most productive wide receivers in team history over the offseason? They did! The saga of Stefon Diggs and the Bills over the previous two offseasons has been well documented by plenty of different outlets, so now the Bills need to figure out who will be the new WR1 for quarterback Josh Allen.

Wide receiver Khalil Shakir is now heading into his third season with the Bills. After a slow start to his career, the Boise State product exploded onto the scene after a massive game against the New York Jets in November of last season. Shakir does a lot of things well, he’s a crisp route runner, he can take advantage of mismatches, has incredibly strong hands, and can make defenders miss after the catch. But, he doesn’t necessarily excel at anything. This leads to him going missing at times throughout games, and he can get locked up by better cornerbacks in the league. 

The big free agent signing for the Bills in the 2024 offseason was the addition of former Washington receiver Curtis Samuel. Samuel had an eerily similar stat line to Shakir; both had just over 60 grabs and hovered around 600 yards, but Samuel had the edge in touchdowns where he had four and Shakir had two. Another area where Samuel has the edge over Shakir is Samuel’s versatility. Throughout his career, Samuel has 700 rushing yards and seven touchdowns. Yet, as his numbers have shown he isn’t an elite number one option, either, and due to his size he can’t be a consistent boundary receiver. 

So who is going to be Allen’s WR1 next season? Well, we believe he won’t necessarily have one. The Bills have a mix of talents at the receiver position, Shakir and Samuel can play both on the boundary, and in the slot. Rookie Keon Coleman is a raw prospect, but a tremendous athlete who is a massive red-zone target. Then when you add tight end Dalton Kincaid to the equation, Allen has a variety of talented targets to pass the ball to throughout the course of the season.

Ray Davis vs. Ty Johnson 

Back to the nitty-gritty position battles. 

The Bills are lucky enough to have a bonafide RB1 on their roster in James Cook. Cook is the prototypical modern running back. He’s a shifty runner who can make defenders miss at the second level and is usually a safe set of hands when receiving passes out of the backfield. Now, who will be splitting carries with Cook as the season starts: veteran Ty Johnson, or rookie Ray Davis? 

Ty Johnson joined the Bills in the 2023 offseason, where he was eventually promoted to the active roster midseason. Johnson started to see consistent touches towards the backend of the season, he displayed a mix of power and surprising speed for a player of his size. He also offers a good counter to Cook with his power and downhill running. 

Davis was drafted in the fourth round of the 2024 draft out of Kentucky. Davis stands at just 5-foot-8 but he doesn’t let his smaller stature stop him from being a hardnose, physical, one-cut runner. He never gives up on a play, and never shies away from contact when in open space. He’s also a reliable pass catcher as well; during his senior season, he had seven receiving touchdowns which led the FBS among running backs.

We won’t cop out on an answer here, Davis will be the backup to Cook. This gives the Bills a young backfield with plenty of balance. Where Cook is the flashy runner, who will make defenders miss. Davis will try to run through those defenders, forcing them to make business decisions. They also will give Allen reliable hands in the backfield and will make the offense less predictable on potential passing downs. 

Watching the Bills offense this season will be... interesting. It's the first full season under offensive coordinator Joe Brady, the first season without Stefon Diggs since 2020, and (potentially) two new starters on the offensive line. But, Josh Allen is the quarterback, so it's going to box office nonetheless.

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McKenna Middlebrook
MCKENNA MIDDLEBROOK

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