Bills GM Brandon Beane made protecting QB Josh Allen a priority this offseason and has been true to his word.
First by adding talent to the guard rotation in free agency, and then by selecting offensive lineman O’Cyrus Torrence out of Florida in the second round of the 2023 NFL Draft.
The big, 6’5″ 330-pound consensus All-American who many draft analysts projected as a late first-round pick met with the Bills twice during the pre-draft process, A number of said analysts projected Buffalo to select with the 27th selection, and they still got their guy with the 59th overall pick in the second round.
The OL noted that he experienced good meetings with Sean McDermott and Brandon Beane during his visit to Buffalo.
“It was a lot of interaction for me and Buffalo, I had a formal interview with them at the combine, met them at the Senior Bowl, and took a day to visit them and it was just a lot of meeting with the coaches and just getting a feel for the environment and culture they built over there,” the new rookie shared via video chat. “We definitely built a good relationship in this process.”
Torrence also sees an opportunity with the Bills offense to make an immediate impact while also continuing to develop.
“I feel my game, just the progression of how I play coming off the ball, my explosiveness and speed coming off, and seeing how this offense is, the variety of offense ranges a lot,” he noted. “So I feel like I’m going to fit in pretty well with that. It’s also the guys I’m going to be around I feel like are going to help my game. The guys playing next to me, the guys I’m blocking for, I feel like all this is going to help me play even better and just raise my ceiling even higher.”
The interior lineman also noted some special intangibles off the field that stood out about the organization he is joining.
“I learned they have a very special culture there, they’ve been working on it for a while with coach McDermott,” he added. “The way their whole organizational shift over the past few years is something I’ve noticed in this process.”
Torrence is a likely starter and immediate contributor who had no penalties last season. He brings power and the ability to move opposing players which is something the Bills interior offensive line needs, both in terms of protecting the quarterback as well as opening up lanes for running backs.
And there’s a teammate the Bills new lineman is particularly looking forward to playing with in that offense.
“I’m really looking forward to blocking for Josh Allen, of course,” he shared. “The first thing that came to mind was blocking for Josh Allen. I mean, what offensive lineman don’t want to do this, so yeah that’s probably the main thing.”
Brandon Beane wouldn’t say where Torrence slots as a right guard or left guard but did speak to where he sees the value the OL adds.
“We got some really go D-tackles in this division, and so having a guy who can anchor versus power, you know that’s probably what he does best and he’s got length to get on guys and hold them off… Sometimes you go from a lower level to SEC, which is probably the highest level in college football, and it wasn’t too big for him,” Bills general manager Brandon Beane said. “I expect that same transition here. It’s not going to be easy, he’ll have to come in here and earn the role, we’re not going to give him anything, but size, strength, power, those would be his top attributes.”
‘I think we’ll start him at guard, right now I see his best chance to help us would probably be inside.”
Torrence started out on the 3rd team after transferring to Florida and worked his way into being a starter by the opening game. He did not give up one single sack during his entire college career of 46 starts between Louisiana and Florida.
“Not a lot of players have that on their resume,” Beane noted, pointing out Torrence has a “desire to be great every single play, no matter whether you’re playing Alabama or you’re playing the Sisters of the Poor.”
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