5) Safety
Aaron Williams is a top 12 safety and his loss this past year was crucial since the trio of Rambo/Graham/Duke didn’t do much for me. If someone like Williams is back there, you can get away with having 1 of the 3 there, but 2 of the 3? Eh. I’m worried about 23’s neck injury since it was so freaky and it happens to be a part of the body that causes the 2nd most trepidation next to head injuries. If they lose him for another period of time, I feel the middle of the field is going to be attacked even more next season. I like Corey Graham as a CB since he really did a stellar job there during his first season here, but at safety? Not so much. PFF ranked Graham as the 50th best safety in the NFL and I feel he’s not the physical type of safety Rex would want. As for Duke..Well, he’s alright against the run but dog shit against the pass. I like Rambo as he seems to have a nose for the ball (Sorry for the cliche), but he’s been inconsistent and how much can you rely on a guy who was a former 6th rounder and was picked up on waivers?
4) Right side of the OL
If the Bills somehow can sign Incognito/Glenn, then you can probably do away with the logic of the Bills trying to fix the right side of the OL. I don’t think its economical feasible to have more than 3 high priced guys on the OL. But if the Bills decide to let 64 or 77 go, then you may have to start fixing that right side. Both Henderson and Miller were ranked near the bottom of the NFL for guards and tackles by PFF. LeSean McCoy averaged 4.8 yards per carry when he ran the left side, but his number dipped to 4.1 when he ran the right side. Footballoutsiders ranked the Bills overall pass protection as 27th. They allowed the 22nd most sacks (42) and 79 QB hits. The Bills gave up a sack on 8.3% of their dropbacks which was the 6th most in the NFL. I’m willing to bet a lot of these stats were due in large part because of the right side. Maybe Henderson/Miller will get better with experience or Cyrus K. actually gets on the field for once, but this isn’t an impressive side as it stands now.
3) Find another WR option
The Bills had the 3rd fewest receptions and receiving yards in the NFL this past season. Their 2nd leading receiver in yards was Robert Woods with 552 yards which ranked 71st in the NFL. Their 2nd leading receiver in catches was Charles Clay with 51, ranking 67th best in the NFL. Even LeSean McCoy, whose been a very good pass catcher out of the backfield for his career, took a step back as he had just 32 catches for 292 yards which ranked 29th and 32nd most for RBs. When you start looking at #2 options in the receiving game and you are not in the top 60 for WRs, you got issues. In other words, Sammy Watkins didn’t get much help.
Maybe you can get by with a healthy Charles Clay as your 2nd option, but you still need some more guys on the outside. Woods, while being a decent blocker for a WR, didn’t really do much this season in the passing game (8 games with 3 catches of fewer). Percy Harvin was supposed to be the #2 option and would have been a hell of an option, but injuries pretty much have derailed his career it would seem. With Woods a FA after next year and someone I wouldn’t exactly call a legit #2 option, the Bills need to start working on getting another guy in the passing game.
2) Edge rushers
The Bills pass rush this season was pathetic. They set a record for fewest sacks in franchise history and had the 30th most QB pressures in the league. I know Mario Williams is leaving on a sour note and being viewed as a fall guy for Rex’s defense, but I got news for you…if you think the pass rush is going to be better with IK Enemkpali/Manny Lawson leading the charge, you are drinking way too much of Rex Ryan’s kool-aid. I mean, the Bills are gonna lose almost a 25% of their sacks from last year with Mario gone and someone who was 4th in sacks in the league from 2012-2014. Plus, when the duo of Manny/IK have fewer sacks than Graham/Rambo (2 to 1), you know the Bills need an edge rusher. Jerry Hughes can’t do it alone.
1) Inside LBs
At least the Bills have Jerry Hughes on the edge. The ILBs are a mess right now. The duo of Nigel Bradham/Preston Brown had just 7 tackles for losses this past season and 1 sack between them. Maybe Nigel Bradham needs another year under Rex’s system as I believe he has the metrics to thrive in his defense, but he probably won’t get that chance since he’s a FA. If he leaves, the Bills have Preston Brown and a bunch of other dudes. That’s not good. Preston Brown had just 3 tackles for losses this season and was ranked by PFF as the 89th best LB. He’s better in coverage than he is at stopping the run or blitzing.
Honorable mentions:
QB- I’m fine with Tyrod being the guy next year, but if there’s a QB the Bills really like in the draft, they should go for it. Keep drafting someone until you hit it.
TE- I like Charles Clay, but I hate all the guys behind him. If the Bills like running as much 2TE offense as Roman enjoys doing, I wouldn’t mind an upgrade over the Irishman and the guy with 4 Gs in his name.
DL- Dareus can play either DE/NT while Kyle Williams should be a legit NT in a 3-4. Still, I wouldn’t mind the Bills getting beefier up front, especially with Williams in the twilight of his career.
Final word:
Last offseason, the Bills addressed the offense with signing Incognito, Harvin, Clay, Tyrod and Felton in FA. They used 2 of their first 3 picks in last year’s draft on offense. Basically Ronald Darby was the only new addition on defense. Look for this offseason to be totally different. I’m still holding out hope that the Bills will rework some deals to get some money to go shopping, but even if they don’t, I think they could go defense with their first 3 picks in the draft.
If this is going to be Rex’s “All-in-defense”, basically and in the simplest terms, he wants the following:
- Fat people on the DL.
- Fast guys on the outside who can drop into coverage and rush the QB.
- ILBs who are fast as hell and can blitz.
- Safety whose just as good in supporting the run as he in the pass.
I think he has that on the DL, but when it comes the rest, there’s a lot to be desired. You know Rex is embarrassed by the way their defense played this season. As a defensive coach who made his career off it and basically said last year’s blending scheme stunk and some of the players weren’t smart enough to know the defense, tells me he’s gonna go for broke on defense this offseason.
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