Pre-Draft Projected Starters: 2023 Buffalo Bills

The Buffalo Bills are looking to bounce back from a disappointing ending to their 2022 season with a (27-10) defeat at home in the AFC Divisional Playoff game to Joe Burrow and the Cincinnati Bengals.

In a year where the Bills had the best betting odds all season long to win Super Bowl LVII, instead, it was another year where superstar quarterback Josh Allen had to watch his “frenemy” Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs win another Super Bowl.  The Bills used this loss as motivation for this offseason and are ready to rebound for 2023.

Right now, the Bills have the third-best betting odds to win Super Bowl LVIII, right behind the San Francisco 49ers and the current champs, the Kansas City Chiefs.

While the media narrative after that game was the Bills’ Super Bowl window was closing, it’s not closing at all as long as they have number 17 at quarterback. Here are the pre-draft projected starters for the 2023 Buffalo Bills:

Quarterback

QB- Josh Allen

Allen had another MVP-like season last year and was the main reason for the Bills winning their third straight AFC East Championship. He did have more interceptions than usual this year, but some of that was due to playing with a nagging elbow injury.

Still, it was good to see him play a full year without having to see Case Keenum come into the game. Now with Kyle Allen, as some needed insurance as their backup and Matt Barkley still as their third option, the Bills’ management team can rest a little easier.

Offensive Line

LT- Dion Dawkins, LG- David Edwards, C- Mitch Morse, RG- Rodger Saffold, RT- Spencer Brown

This group did a good job protecting Allen last year, as he was one of the least sacked quarterbacks in the league. It lets the skilled players on the team get open to make big plays on the offense.

They did struggle in the playoff game against the Bengals as the offense was unable to move the ball in the snow and only helped the offense produce two long scoring drives, which only led to 10 points.

Where the Bills need the most help on the line is at the right tackle position. They need a big, tall, hulking tackle on the right side to come in and plug in that gap right away to take pressure off Spencer Brown who is a solid versatile swing tackle.

Running Back

RB- Damien Harris, RB- James Cook

With Damien Harris just signed and James Cook heading into his sophomore season, they’re both capable backs who should split time with the starting unit. Harris is a combination of speed and power and if you’re not careful, he will run multiple defenders over and break it 75 yards to the house.

Cook is pure speed and is great at finding his blocks and hitting the holes by kicking it into second gear. Both are too valuable to leave one on the field and the other on the sideline.

Last year, the Bills had Devin Singletary, Cook, and Zach Moss on their opening-day roster, and they finally realized that Moss was not a scheme fit, as he was just a bruiser with no game-changing speed.

As a result, they traded him to the Colts for a speedy back and a great kick returner by the name of Nykeim Hines.

What a trade that was as Hines brought them another speedy runner in the backfield as well as two long kickoff returns in the regular season finale against the New England Patriots.

With Hines returning, too, the Bills now have three speed demons for their spread offense that they need in order to win their first Super Bowl in franchise history.

Wide Receiver

WR- Stefon Diggs, WR- Gabe Davis, WR- Trent Sherfield

It’s no question who was the Bills’ primary target for Allen last year. Once again, it was number 14, Stefon Diggs.  He boasted a remarkable 1,429 yards receiving and 11 touchdowns.  The dynamic receiver and Allen remind me of Jim Kelly and Andre Reed during the “Glory days” of the Buffalo Bills Super Bowl runs.

When Kelly would line up in the shotgun and Reed was in the slot, Kelly was always looking Reeds’ way and he ended up catching it for the clutch touchdown. Now the difference here is Allen and Diggs are hooking up on deep go-routes (not Brady-Edelman slot-type routes), but they are still going for six most of the time and we like it like that.

You also have Gabe Davis at the number two position who is a big, physical receiver reminiscent of a Mike Evans type of receiver. When you need a big end zone catch, Davis can go up and grab for those 50-50 balls.

Don’t get started on playoff Gabe Davis either. Even in that thrilling but disappointing loss to Kansas City in the 2021 AFC Divisional Playoff game, number 13 for the Bills balled out and burst onto the national scene.

Then, there’s the “New Kid” on the block who’s taking it “Step by Step”. Trent Sherfield was just signed by the Bills away from their division rival Miami Dolphins.

He is basically three people in one body. The multi-faceted receiver is also big, like Gabe Davis, with the speed of Tyreek Hill. Sherfield was the third-best receiver on the Fins in yards last year, with 417 behind Hill.

Overall this receiver core is skilled, talented, and fast, fast, fast. Brandon Beane obviously is taking a page from the Kansas City Chiefs and Cincinnati Bengals.

The Bills’ GM realizes that if he wants to take his team past the Divisional round of the playoffs and to the Super Bowl, you have to surround your superstar quarterback with speed. The NFL is a passing league and you have to be fast now. That’s the way the game is played.

 

Tight End

TE- Dawson Knox

The Bills are set at the number one tight end spot with Dawson Knox. He is a very tall tight end with improving hands and great athleticism at the position. He is very multifaceted, with his catching abilities improving every year since going to the Tight End U skills camp hosted by Travis Kelce.

The concern is not with him. It’s been trying to find the consistent number two behind Knox. The Bills thought they had that when they brought in veteran Tight End O.J. Howard last year, but unfortunately, he was cut prior to the start of the 2022 regular season.

Defensive Line

DE- Von Miller, DE- Greg Rousseau, DT- Ed Oliver, DT- DaQuan Jones

The projected starters in this group wreaked havoc on many of the quarterbacks in the regular season. Von Miller was a beast on the field until his season-ending injury last year, while DaQuan Jones emerged as a big body on the interior d-line.

Greg Rousseau also took a huge step forward and Ed Oliver took control of the line. Look for this group to make leaps and bounds in year two, especially with head coach Sean McDermott calling the plays on defense this year.

Linebacker

LB- Matt Milano, LB- Baylon Spector, LB- Terel Bernard

Last year, this group shined on the field at dropping back into coverage and creating turnovers like they were extra DBs. Matt Milano was the star last year, along with Tremaine Edmunds, who just signed a four-year, $72 million deal with the Chicago Bears.

Look for Milano to lead the way of the three small but quick linebackers to blitz the quarterback and drop back into coverage, especially with McDermott calling the defensive plays.

This could change, however, as they could possibly be setting up to draft a starting linebacker to start day one to replace Edmunds in the April 2023 NFL draft.

Safety

FS- Micah Hyde, SS- Jordan Poyer

Micah Hyde was off to another strong season before an injury in week two against the Tennessee Titans cost him to miss the rest of the season. Now healthy and fully recovered, he and his best bud and teammate Jordan Poyer will team up to form the best safety tandem in the NFL.

Before his injury, Hyde has been durable since being one of Coach McDermott’s first free agent signings as head coach. He is great at dropping back into coverage and coming up with those big-time game-changing interceptions.

As for Poyer, he is back with the Bills as the strong safety resigned to a two-year deal to remain in Buffalo after he was shopping around in free agency.

But after Buffalo cut cap space by releasing Edmunds and restructuring Allen and Digg’s contracts, the Bills created $32 million in cap space to bring Hyde and Poyer back. Poyer is the other half of the Hyde-Poyer interception machine. Together when the game is on the line, they are both great at dropping back and doing their jobs to seal the game.

Corner

CB- Tre’Davious White, CB- Kaiir Elam

This is going to be your 1-2 punch at cornerback for years to come. The Bills already know Tre White is a superstar, but they did not know what type of corner Kaiir Elam was going to be when they took him in the first round at 23rd overall in the 2022 NFL draft.

The minute he stepped into the number one role when White was recovering from ACL surgery, he was showing that he could step into a White role positively.

Once White came back, Elam started coming into form and together, they started to form one of the best cornerback tandems in the NFL.

If both of them stay healthy and play a full year of shutdown cornerback style, then it’s over for opposing receivers.

While all of these players could be the starters for the upcoming 2023 season, the biggest needs the Bills have to address are the middle linebacker and right tackle positions.

With the NFL draft less than a month away, maybe they can find some help to fill these gaps.

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