No first-round pick doesn’t mean the Buffalo Bills can’t become more powerful, it appears.
Following the 2020 NFL Draft, the Bills moved up in Touchdown Wire‘s post-draft power rankings. The Bills are getting very close to the top of the mountain, approaching top-five status.
Overall, the Bills landed at No. 6 in the standings, after slotting in No. 7 following the start of free agency.
Here’s part of TD Wire’s breakdown:
The Buffalo Bills waited until the second day of the draft to make their first pick, but they cashed in on night two. First they added Iowa defensive end A.J. Epenesa. The pass rusher had a bit of a draft week fall, perhaps due to less than inspiring testing at the Combine that moved him from a true EDGE to more of a 3-4 defensive end type of player in the NFL. That might make his scheme fit in Buffalo a question mark, but adding him to a defensive front along with Ed Oliver, Jerry Hughes, Vernon Butler and Trent Murphy is going to give offensive coordinators headaches. Zack Moss is a perfect addition to this offense and along with Devin Singletary is going to make an almost ideal one-two punch behind Josh Allen.
TD Wire adds that Day 3 additions of Gabriel Davis and Isaiah Hodgins could become legit downfield threats while Dane Jackson could be a solid cornerback in due time for the Bills, despite his seventh-round status.
And then there’s Jake Fromm, as TD Wire begins it. Their breakdown of his pick was particular interesting, dubbing Buffalo’s quarterbacks a “potential storyline” that’s worth watching:
Then there is Jake Fromm. Now, I am certainly not one to fan the flames of a quarterback controversy. However, last season, Josh Allen made strides in the timing and rhythm part of the quarterback game. Offensive coordinator Brian Daboll’s offense, due to his time in both New England and Alabama, has a certain Erhardt-Perkins/West Coast feel to it. Allen was good in that part of the playbook, but struggled in the downfield part of the game, odd considering his strengths coming out of Wyoming.
Should those struggles continue…and Bills fans are convinced they will not…but if Allen struggles Fromm is a good fit for the timing and rhythm game.
Gotta love the ranking, gotta hate the potential thought of a QB competition. At first, that won’t be a thing, though. Allen will start the season as Buffalo’s signal caller, but let’s see how things play out. In the past, he had the excuse that those around him weren’t good enough. That’s not the case anymore.
But breaking down the power rankings, the Bills are No. 6 overall, and No. 4 in the AFC. The top-five starts with the Chiefs, followed by the Ravens, 49ers, Saints and Titans as the only teams out-ranking Buffalo. Which of course means the Bills are the top-ranked team in the AFC East. And it’s by about a mile. The Patriots slot in at No. 16, with the Jets at No. 25 and Dolphins up to No. 27.
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