With training camp less then a month away, the Bills have some key position battles will to watch.
This is the first time in a while where the Bills have three capable starting quarterbacks on the roster. Second year man Nathan Peterman, free agent pick up A.J. McCarron, and the seventh overall pick in the draft Josh Allen are all valid starters in the NFL. Fans have their own opinions, but Josh Allen is still very young and should not be thrown in the drivers seat in Sean McDermott’s complex system, without learning the system clearly. This happened to Nathan Peterman and it messed up his learning process. Allen will develop into a star-quarterback, but he needs all the time he can use.
We are very fortunate to have two-ready starting quarterbacks on the roster, if Allen is not ready. All three of these guys will be apart of the process and capable to start for the Bills. Fans should be looking forward to this.
Another key position battle is between second year man Dion Dawkins and veteran free agent pickup Marshall Newhouse. A lot of players will have more competition time due to the departure of Eric Wood and Richie Incognito. Dawkins is young and big. He played very well last year and impressed the coaches. He does have things to work on to help his pass protection technique, but overall he is pretty good. Newhouse, a Super Bowl champion with the Steelers, has been all around the league after being drafted in 2010. Recently he protected Derek Carr on the Oakland Raiders. He started 14-games last season.
Newhouse was in the spotlight last year in a game against the Dolphins. Quarterback Derek Carr fumbled and picked it up, got helicoptered, and fumbled again. A video of it still floats around the internet today. Both these players need to work on their negatives but this is definitely a key competition coming into training camp. The offensive line lost some key players during the offseason.
And lastly the wide receiving core, headed by Kelvin Benjamin and Zay Jones. The Bills don’t have as may ‘big name’ receivers that they have had in the past, but there is still lots of talent. Brandon Reilly has made his was from the practice squad and could potentially be a number two reciever. The team picked up Jeremy Kerley and Kaelin Clay(again) in the offseason. As well as drafting Ray-Ray McCloud, Robert Foster, and Cam Phillips. There defiantly is going to be some competing within this group. It’s a solid group of guys.
This is just a few of the key position battles that will unfold at St. John Fisher College, starting July 26th at 5:00.
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