The Bills made some headlines this offseason. In a trade, Stefon Diggs joined the team. Buffalo surprisingly saw pass rusher AJ Epenesa and running back Zack Moss fall into their lap at the recent NFL Draft.
For their overall efforts, ESPN recently ranked the complete offseason package put together by the Bills as the sixth-best in the entire league.
Here’s how Buffalo’s haul is broken down:
What went right: The Bills loaded up on defensive linemen and might have the NFL’s deepest line. While Shaq Lawson and Jordan Phillips left in free agency, Buffalo signed former Panthers Mario Addison and Vernon Butler, added Quinton Jefferson and then used their top selection on AJ Epenesa. Another former Panthers player joined the organization when Buffalo signed cornerback Josh Norman to a one-year, $6 million deal. Given how frequently defenders have improved after joining the Bills, the Norman deal could turn out to be a valuable flier for Sean McDermott & Co.
The headline move, of course, was trading four selections to the Vikings for star wideout Stefon Diggs. I saw it as a win for both sides, and I like the Bills taking a risk to add a guy who is one of the most talented receivers in football when healthy. In addition to making this team better in 2020, Diggs should make it easier for the organization to make up its mind about third-year quarterback Josh Allen by the end of the season. McDermott and general manager Brandon Beane also supplemented Allen’s offensive line by bringing back Quinton Spain and signing Daryl Williams, another former Panthers player, to a one-year deal.
What went wrong: Norman might work out, but $6 million is a lot to pay for a cornerback who hasn’t been good since his breakout season in Carolina in 2015. Given how the market for veteran cornerbacks didn’t pan out, the Bills probably could have ended up with a better player at a similar price.
Norman is certainly a roll of the dice in terms of the breakdown. And he’s costly. But Norman thankfully is not going to be handed a job. He’s going to have to compete with incumbent Levi Wallace and EJ Gaines for playing time at the No. 2 cornerback in Buffalo’s defense.
Speaking of the Bills, that 2015 season is the last and best one Norman had… and he played that year in Buffalo’s defense in Carolina. Sean McDermott was the Panthers defensive coordinator at the time. What we’re getting at is, if that’s what went wrong? We’re OK with that for the Bills.
In terms of the rest of the list, the only teams to have ranked better than Buffalo were the Cowboys, Colts, Broncos, Browns and Bucs on ESPN’s list.
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