Buffalo Bills Depth Chart 2019 Bills Depth Chart

Preseason Analysis: Bills Looking to Make the Jump to Consistency

What to expect from Josh Allen in Year 2?

After being essentially thrown into the starting role last year, Josh Allen entered training camp with the clear knowledge that he’ll be the man this year. With the starting job already secured, he no longer has to worry about playing time and impressing coaches enough to get the call. Instead, Allen has already 11 starts under his belt and will focus on refining his skills and playmaking ability. Last year, he completed only 52.8% of passes for 2,074 yards. Additionally, he did succeed for 10 passing TDs though the 12 interceptions negated much of that success.

The Bills will definitely be looking for more out of Allen who has a lot to improve on. So far this year, Allen has been quoted as being intelligent and being able to decipher defenses with his decision making. Hopefully that’s the case or otherwise, Buffalo could be looking to draft yet another QB in their recent history. He looked sharp in his first preseason action though there’s likely a lot of work left to be done.

Have the Bills assembled the deepest running back core in the league?

A year after Josh Allen led the team in rushing yards, what did Buffalo do in the offseason? They signed Frank Gore and T.J. Yeldon as well as drafting Devin Singletary in the third round to add to LeSean McCoy and Chris Ivory. If I didn’t know better, that’s five very capable backs that are worthy of either being borderline starters or decent second or third backups on any team. However, the Bills decided they needed all of them on the same roster.

This will definitely be a position to watch out for in order to determine exactly which order and who gets called upon in game by game action. McCoy appears to be the frontrunner for the starting job, followed by Gore, and then everyone else. However, with so many options, I wouldn’t be surprised to see any of the projected starters get benched for lack of production. There’s simply too many options for Buffalo at this position and someone won’t get their fair share of carries. 

More receivers to go with the running backs?

Just like the running backs, the Bills also made some moves at the wide receiver position to give Allen even more weapons. Among his top targets last year, Buffalo still retains Zay Jones and Robert Foster while Kelvin Benjamin departed for the Chiefs. Welcome in Cole Beasley, Andre Roberts, and John Brown to that group and there’s a chance the Bills could have a very formidable core. While none of these names immediate stands out as top wideout, they all have decent NFL experience and will be reliable targets for Allen.

First off, Jones was Buffalo’s leading receiver a year ago and will likely take up a starting role this year. His 54.9% catch rate is a bit low but he did enough last year to earn him another shot. Foster caught 61.4% of balls thrown his way though with limited targets; he’ll be a fringe starter depending on his preseason. The longtime Cowboy, Cole Beasley, is another bubble starter who’s been very reliable receiver throughout his career. Roberts hasn’t been a solid starter since 2012 and will likely be regulated to 5th on the WR depth chart. Finally, Brown showed promise as a starter last year in Baltimore and has the makings of a solid WR2 or even WR1 potential.