3 offensive position battles to watch

The Buffalo Bills offense is currently in flux; Stefon Diggs, Gabe Davis and Mitch Morse all left the team via trade or free agency. That means there will be plenty of battles to watch when training camp begins in Rochester this summer.

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

McGovern started 17 games at left guard for Buffalo last season, where he excelled, particularly in pass protection. According to PFF, McGovern played the sixth-most snaps among all guards in the NFL last season, while allowing just two sacks. So why is he struggling at center when he played guard last season? He held much of that position throughout his college career and took a few snaps there as a professional; given the offseason departures of Morse and Ryan Bates, he is the team’s most experienced option at center.

Then there’s rookie Sedrick Van Pran-Granger. Van Pran-Granger has plenty of high-level experience as he started for three seasons at Georgia and won two national championships. General manager Brandon Beane called him an “alpha dog” on the YouTube series Bills Embedded, and you can see that alpha dog behavior on the field. He has excellent motor skills, is incredibly physical and moves well when reaching the second level of defense.

We’ll give the first nod to rookie Sedrick Van Pran-Granger. First, this isn’t a blow to McGovern, although he’s versatile, he’s best suited for the left guard position. Van Pran-Granger is a natural center, and the Bills have shown they’re willing to put rookies on the line under the Beane-McDermott regime with players like O’Cryus Torrence, Cody Ford and Spencer Brown all getting plenty of them . minutes during their rookie year.

Did you hear that the Buffalo Bills traded away one of their most productive wide receivers in team history this offseason? They did it ! The saga of Stefon Diggs and the Bills over the previous two offseasons has been well documented by many different media outlets, so now the Bills must determine who quarterback Josh Allen’s new WR1 will be.

Receiver Khalil Shakir now enters 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 an impeccable route runner, 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 sometimes leads to him disappearing throughout games, and he can be locked down by better cornerbacks in the league.

The big free agent signing for the Bills during the 2024 offseason was the addition of former Washington wide receiver Curtis Samuel. Samuel had an eerily similar stat line to Shakir; both had just over 60 catches 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 advantage over Shakir is Samuel’s versatility. Throughout his career, Samuel totaled 700 rushing yards and seven touchdowns. Yet, as his numbers have shown, he’s not an elite number one option either, and because of his size, he can’t be a consistent boundary receiver.

So who will be Allen’s WR1 next season? Well, we think he won’t necessarily have one. The Bills have a mix of talent at the receiver position, Shakir and Samuel can play both on the edge and in the slot. Rookie Keon Coleman is a raw prospect, but a tremendous athlete who is a massive target in the red zone. 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 season.

Back to positional battles.

The Bills are fortunate to have a true RB1 on their roster in James Cook. Cook is the prototype of the 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 share carries with Cook early in the season: veteran Ty Johnson or rookie Ray Davis?

Ty Johnson joined the Bills during the 2023 offseason, where he was eventually promoted to the active roster mid-season. Johnson began to see consistent touches towards the end of the season, he displayed a blend of power and surprising speed for a player of his size. He also provides 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 is only 5-foot-8, but he doesn’t let his smaller stature stop him from being a hard-nosed, physical runner. He never gives up on a play and never shy away from contact when in open space. He is also a reliable pass catcher; during his senior season, he had seven receiving touchdowns, which led the FBS among running backs.

We won’t get an answer here, Davis will be Cook’s replacement. 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 get around these defenders, forcing them to make business decisions. They will also give Allen reliable hands in the backfield and make the offense less predictable on potential handoffs.

Watching the Bills offense this season will be…interesting. This is 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 still goes to the box office.