The Buffalo Bills will be coming off a surprising 7-9 record after the Renaissance of recently retired Kyle Orton. Nevertheless changes were made in the offseason with the addition of head coach Rex Ryan, half back LeSean McCoy, and tight end Charles Clay. Will the changes be enough to end a 15 year playoff drought?
The Bills will be heading into this draft without a first round pick after the Sammy Watkins pick. The Bills have an obvious need at quarterback but look for that position to be taken care of late. E.J. Manuel will likely be given one more chance to succeed while Matt Cassel appears to be the stop gap option; even the newly signed Tyrod Taylor is an option. Oregon State quarterback Sean Mannion could be a nice option for the Bills. He compares favorably to Mike Glennon and has a strong enough arm to cut through the tough Buffalo wind.
Another spot to look for on offense is upgrades along the offensive line. It is clear Rex Ryan’s squad will try to run the ball early and often. Look for Buffalo to use their mid round picks to upgrade the O-line. Cordy Glenn, Seantrel Henderson, Richie Incognito, Cyrus Kouandjio, Cyril Richardson, Kraig Urbik, and Eric Wood are the current lineman on the roster.
Defensively the team is in great shape after the retention of pass rusher Jerry Hughes. Even after trading Kiko Alonso the combination of Nigel Bradham and Preston Brown are solid middle linebacker options. One direction the team could go with is to select another outside linebacker. Mario Williams simply doesn’t fit the scheme and is not a guarantee to stay on the roster after this season due to a giant cap hit. Hau’oli Kikaha, Nate Orchard, Danielle Huneter, and Trey Flowers are some of the players who could be available in the second round.
