Projecting Bills' Offensive Line Performance Under Aaron Kromer
Nobody can blame offensive line coach Aaron Kromer if he can't recognize the Buffalo Bills anymore after five years away from the team. After all, their entire roster and offensive philosophy has been turned over since then.
What he's walking back into is a team built around the power of Josh Allen, a quarterback with the strongest arm in the NFL who is built like a tight end with halfback speed and fullback wrecking ability.
When Kromer last coached for them in 2016, the Bills had running back LeSean McCoy approaching the end of his career and not much else going for them on offense. Yet Kromer crafted a line that cleared the way for McCoy to average a career-best 5.4 yards per carry that season, earning him the fifth of his six career Pro Bowl selections.
This Bills squad goes to the air more often and with much more success than the 2016 version. It's a juggernaut that bears no resemblance to the 2016 version.
That doesn't mean coach Sean McDermott and recently promoted offensive coordinator Ken Dorsey don't want to keep evolving. And a big part of that is improving the running game.
On paper, the Bills were outstanding in that area last season, finishing with 2,209 yards and and 20 TDs on 461 attempts for an average of 4.8 yards per carry. However, Allen (122 carries, 763 yards, six TDs) inflated those statistics immensely.
What's more, according to Cover 1, the Bills' Explosive Run Rate drops from 5th in the NFL to 23rd when you remove Allen from the equation.
While the Bills don't want Allen to stop running when necessary, they want the necessity to be lowered.
Significantly.
That's where Kromer and his zone-blocking schemes and sound footwork techniques come in.
Granted, they don't have a back like McCoy, who is bound for the Hall of Fame, on the roster. But they do have a rejuvenated Devin Singletary entering the final year of his rookie contract and a veteran free-agent addition in Duke Johnson, who has been as efficient when running as when receiving, which is his specialty.
And they're almost certainly going to help themselves to one of the many talented running backs on the second or third day of this month's NFL Draft.
Then they'll go to work behind a revamped offensive line that should be the best McDermott has had since his arrival.
Left tackle Dion Dawkins and new left guard Rodger Saffold are coming off Pro Bowl seasons. Ryan Bates, who emerged by the end of last season as the top guard on their depth chart, is the presumed starter on the right side, although he has the versatility to play all five positions.
The Bills feel so good about veteran center Mitch Morse that they extended his contract this offseason. They needed just three games to decide they couldn't keep rookie right tackle Spencer Brown out of the starting lineup last fall.
They have more than enough raw material here.
Saffold worked under Kromer for a couple of seasons with the Los Angeles Rams. He seems happy for the reunion.
"For two years we had one of the top offensive lines in the NFL," Saffold said. "We were able to get to a Super Bowl together and turn the entire team around. I know his techniques, he always makes sure everything is clear and they work. I know how successful that I was with him and I know I can be just as successful again, being able to continue to work with him and be with a coach that I know is going to make sure I am familiar with everything going on with every play, with every protection and run. ... He's just a great guy to work with."
When the Rams let Kromer go after the 2020 season, it left NFL Network analyst Brian Baldinger, who spent 12 years as an offensive lineman in the NFL, perplexed. Baldinger is one of Kromer's biggest fans, and he Tweeted about it at the time.
Baldinger called Kromer a masterful teacher, pointing to his crossover footwork technique and use of the chop, which is more commonly thought of as a technique for defensive linemen. But Kromer points out how it can help offensive linemen just as much.
Lorenzo Reyna of Heavy.com documents all of it here.
Just as Baldinger is a disciple of Kromer, Kromer is a disciple of the man who is widely considered the finest offensive line coach in the history of the game, the late Howard Mudd.
Mudd was an out-of-the-box thinker, particularly when it came to pass protection. He wasn't married to the most popular technique, the vertical set, which many offensive tackles don't have the athletic ability to execute properly and never will.
For those who couldn't do the kick-slide well enough, Mudd believed in using jump sets, which call for offensive linemen to initiate contact with pass rushers rather than trying to beat them to a spot in the backfield while creating space that athletic edge rushers too often exploit, sometimes avoiding contact altogether.
Bottom line: The Bills expect to run the ball better, protect Allen better and be even more productive as an offense while cutting down on Allen's run frequency.
They have hired the man who has maximized talent before in Buffalo as well as other NFL stops.
All that's left is for them to do it.
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.
