Peeking Ahead to Bills' Most Compelling Position Battles: Offensive Line
If recent history has shown us anything about the Buffalo Bills, it's that they're not afraid to make changes on the offensive line at any point in the season.
Though they've slowly but surely upgraded over the years since coach Sean McDermott and general manager Brandon Beane arrived in 2017, it seems like they're not done, as the many moves they made this offseason prove.
So in this, our third in a series previewing the most compelling position battles of training camp, we take a deeper dive into the personnel and what the Bills hope to accomplish before they open their season.
The principal players:
- Mitch Morse
- Ryan Bates
- Rodger Saffold
- Spencer Brown
- Dion Dawkins
- Ike Boettger
- Greg Mancz
- Jake Capra
- Cody Ford
- Tommy Doyle
- Bobby Hart
- David Quessenberry
- Luke Tenuta
- Alec Anderson
- Derek Kerstetter
The Bills will head to organized team activities and mandatory minicamp without even all their starting spots necessarily nailed down, as left tackle Dion Dawkins alluded to with postseason praise of Brown and Tommy Doyle, a pair of giants who each were drafted last year and stand 6-9 and 6-8, respectively.
Brown already has taken over as the starting right tackle. Doyle saw limited duty as an extra lineman or tight end in heavy packages. He even caught a touchdown pass.
"Man, I love those kids," Dawkins said. I love them, I love them, I love them. They are ... cookie-cutters, they are like the sculpture of what a rookie should be like. They came in here, they showed their personality, they kept their mouths shut. They spoke when they were supposed to, they showed their talents they were supposed to, they took care of the older guys, they were here on time, they didn't complain, they got the job done.
"And I am excited for those two guys' futures. They are the future. ... I'm excited to see their growth, and the battles are what it is. Like if Tommy and Spence do what they're supposed to do consistently, it pushes guys like me out. So I'm one to always give credit where credit is for sure due, and those guys are the future of tackles in the NFL."
As it stands before OTAs begin, Dawkins and Brown are the starting tackles, Saffold and Bates the starting guards and Morse the starting center, with all kinds of talent.
Where it will stand by September or November or the start of the postseason in January is anyone's guess. After all, the Bills featured changes to their depth chart in every one of those months last season, and it should come as no shock if the same were to happen this year.
That's because they've stocked the shelves with the kind of extraordinary depth rarely seen in the NFL since the dawn of free agency.
Beyond Doyle and rookies Tenuta, Anderson and Kerstetter, the Bills feature all kinds of veterans with all kinds of starting experience.
Ford has 30 career starts, including playoffs, all with the Bills. All of Boettger's 20 career starts have come with the Bills as well. There's also Hart (67 career starts) and newcomers Mancz (34 starts) and Quessenberry (24 starts).
What's more, all have played multiple positions.
Then there's new offensive line coach Aaron Kromer, who actually was the Bills' former offensive line coach — in 2015 and 2016, just before McDermott took over as head coach. And new offensive coordinator Ken Dorsey, who could require some technique tweaks or different methods that maybe not everyone will be able to perform.
Not even Bates, who as a restricted free agent signed a lucrative offer sheet with the Chicago Bears before the Bills decided to match it and bring him back, has been guaranteed a spot.
"We view him to compete to start," Beane said at the NFL Meetings.
Consider also that Dawkins has three years but no guaranteed money remaining on his contract.
Like every team, the Bills would like a stable offensive line that can be a centerpiece of a title run.
But for now, the state of their line is fluid.
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Nick Fierro is the publisher of Bills Central. Check out the latest Bills news at www.si.com/nfl/bills and follow Fierro on Twitter at @NickFierro. Email to Nicky300@aol.com.
