The Buffalo Bills have already begun their quest for their first Super Bowl trophy in franchise history and it’s already June. Yes, I know, every team’s Super Bowl quest begins today.
This article’s solely on the one team whose quest I care about right now, and that’s the team who’s headquartered on One Bills Drive in Orchard Park, New York.
Let’s take a look at who the Buffalo Bills selected for their free agency picks this month so far.
2023 Buffalo Bills June Free Agent Signings
Former Miami Dolphins OT Brandon Shell (71) – Doug Murray/AP
Brandon Shell (OT) – Miami Dolphins
The Bills decided to beef up their offensive line to protect their new cover athlete for Madden 24 quarterback Josh Allen.
At 6’5″, 324 lbs., Shell started in 11 games and played in 13 for the Dolphins. He was also with the Seattle Seahawks during the (2020-21) COVID-year and the New York Jets from (2016-2019).
The offensive tackle first came into the NFL as a fifth-round pick by the Jets in the 2016 draft. He is from Goose Creek, South Carolina, and played college football for the South Carolina Gamecocks. His great Uncle is Hall of Fame tackle and longtime Raiders Head Coach Art Shell.
The impactful athlete has started in 72 games and played in 83 in the league, and a majority of his career has been spent at the right tackle position.
To make way for Shell, the Bills parted ways with defensive tackle Brandin Bryant.
Bills sign Marcell Ateman. https://t.co/4qWYthDmpj
— ProFootballTalk (@ProFootballTalk) June 1, 2023
Marcell Ateman (WR) – St. Louis BattleHawks – (XFL)
To add more height to the receiving core and to bring on another spring football player to the roster, the Bills signed Marcell Ateman after making his invited tryout.
At 6’4″, 216 lbs., the former XFL receiver played decent for the BattleHawks in the first year of the third installment of the league now owned by Dwayne, “The Rock” Johnson, Danny Garcia, and Gerry Cardinale.
Now, he comes to Buffalo looking to win a Super Bowl with a stacked receiver core, led by a superstar QB and just a great offense to jump into and contribute to right away.
Ateman is a big physical receiver with an ability to run slant routes and catch those hard, 50-50 contested catches. This could mean the end of Gabe Davis’ career next year if the Bills keep bringing in tall, physical receivers who play a similar type of game as him.
The only thing that held Ateman back from really being a star in the XFL, were injuries to his hamstring, as he only saw action in just seven contests. Still, he produced a satisfying 19 receptions for 259 yards.
If he could produce those types of numbers in limited action with a great spring football quarterback like A.J. McCarron, there’s no telling what he could do in 17 games with an NFL-talented passer like Josh Allen. Stay tuned, Bills Mafia.
To add Ateman to their roster, the Bills released wideout Braydon Johnson.
Former LA Rams LB Leonard Floyd (54) – Katelyn Mulcahy/Getty Images
Bills Add Teammate of Von Miller’s; Sack Machine, Leonard Floyd – (LB)
It’s one thing when the Bills Mafia heard that Von Miller was leaving the LA Rams to come to join the Bills last year to a defense that was missing a vital pass rusher who could get after the best quarterbacks in the game. Now we have another monstrous linebacker joining the Bills Leonard Floyd.
At 6’6″, 240 lbs., Floyd is a sack machine very similar to Miller. While playing for the Rams for the last three years, he credits himself with 29 sacks, two forced fumbles and an interception.
The two standout linebackers are back in Buffalo, and with McDermott acting as both the head coach and the DC, look for these two “Sack-a-jaw-ea’s” to be making Aaron Rodger’s life a living he** come week 1 in the Meadowlands on Monday Night.
Former Minnesota Vikings CB Cameron Dantzler (27) – Jim Mone/Associated Press
Bills Sign Untapped Potential Star Cameron Dantzler – (CB)
The Bills made a sneaky roster move to their secondary and had to swap out another player to do so. They signed cornerback Cameron Dantzler Sr.
In order to make way to fill out the roster, the Bills let go of cornerback Kyler McMichael.
The 6’2″, 190 lb. cover corner was drafted by the Minnesota Vikings in the third-round (98th overall) in the 2020 NFL draft. He stuck it out and played his last three years in Minnesota, playing in 35 games and starting in 26. He has three total interceptions, 17 passes batted down, three created fumbles, and two fumble pickups.
The skyrocketing cornerback only played in 10 games in 2022 but started in nine. He completed his short season with 50 tackles and five passes deflected.
Dantzler is a pure, man-man corner with untapped potential. In his rookie season, he was playing with Mike Zimmer as his coach, and Zimmer demanded a lot out of his corners in his defensive scheme. He did show promise there as well in 2021.
Kevin O’Connell was hired in 2022, and he should have thrived in now-former defensive coordinator Ed Dontell’s scheme, but injuries and inconsistent play derailed the corner from taking another step forward in his development.
With Dantzler coming to Buffalo, his lockdown ability is exactly what the Bills need in McDermott’s aggressive defense.
Where you put pressure on the quarterback, and your two-three lockdown corners play man-man zone coverage on the outside to prevent giving up the big plays on the back end.
