Sports blog information from USA TODAY.
Madden 24 ratings for every Buffalo #Bills wide receiver:
EA Sports is going position-by-position and releasing player ratings for their upcoming NFL video game, Madden 24.
This year’s game will feature Bills quarterback Josh Allen on the cover and we now know how the game rates wide receivers in the league.
Here are the Madden 24 ratings for every Bills wide receiver set to feature in the game:
Who are locks to make the #Bills’ 53-man roster on offense?
The Buffalo Bills are gearing up for the start of 2023 training camp. Players are going to be fighting for both playing time and roster spots.
But if we’re being honest, some of those positions on the team are already sorted out.
Here is every player on the Bills roster that is already a roster lock to make the team on offense:
#Bills’ Justin Shorter explains decision to transfer in college and how driven he is by it:
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Buffalo Bills rookie wide receiver Justin Shorter has had an interesting journey to the NFL. It’s not quite rags to riches, but it’s unique.
Coming out of high school, Shorter was the top-ranked wideout recruit in the nation. He took his talents to Penn State but transfered–That never happens if things are going right and they were not. Injuries and other circumstances slowed him down.
Fast forward to today, the fifth-round rookie of the Bills said moving schools had very much helped him in the end, in a motivational sense.
“I remember after I transfered to Florida, there were always questions about like my hands,” Shorter said via video conference. “All that, it’s just noise, but I remember screenshotting it and putting it as my screensaver… It was definitely a motivating thing and now I feel like I won’t drop a single ball.”
“Mental toughness is a big thing for me,” Shorter added.
Specifically on transfering, Shorter described it as a challenge.
“Going from Penn State to Florida, it was definitely tough at first. Initially, leaving somewhere and going somewhere else, there is that uncertainty,” Shorter told the Buffalo News. “I just had to trust myself and just go out there and really just put that time and effort in. I feel like once I was able to focus and just put that work in, everything started to carry over for me. But it was definitely tough at first.”
All in all, his battle changing schools and teams might’ve actually helped him get picked by the Bills. General manager Brandon said the team pulled the curtain back on who Shorter really was as a person during his pre-draft visit to Buffalo. Clearly the Bills liked what they saw.
“You never know their journeys. These are not robots. Life happens to people for various reasons and sometimes people hit obstacles, but we feel that his best football could and should be ahead of him if he puts in the work,” Beane said. “He acknowledged that there’s more in his game.”
At Florida, Shorter’s best season was in 2021 when he had 41 catches for 550 yards and three touchdowns. His catches dropped to 29 last year, but his yardage jumped to 577 with two touchdowns.
At 6-foot-4, Shorter said he tries to use his size to his advantage as much as possible. Look for a motivated player that’s going to be physical… and one that’s still carrying a chip on his shoulder.
Shorter said he’s planning to keep the receipts.
“I’ll just say, I definitely know every single wideout that had went before me and know all the teams that picked them,” Shorter said. “I definitely know when I get my opportunity I’m going to tear this league up.”
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WATCH: Highlights from #Bills 2023 rookie minicamp:
The Buffalo Bills were on the field taking on one of their first practices of 2023 over the weekend… well, not everyone.
The team’s 2023 NFL draft class, undrafted rookie signees, and others trying out for the team were.
Here are highlights from the session via local media:
Breaking down the #Bills 2023 draft class:
The Buffalo Bills 2023 NFL draft class is officially in session, kicking off their rookie minicamp this week.
What type of role could each player have, and when might they make an impact on the field?
The answers to those questions ultimately remain to be seen, but in the meantime here is a breakdown of each member of the draft class.
Projected rookie contracts for each of the #Bills’ 2023 draft picks:
The Buffalo Bills have six new rookies via the 2023 NFL draft. Eventually they will all sign their contracts, but those are mostly known already.
The NFL has a system in place which essentially locks in rookie contracts through a wage scale. Depending on where a player is drafted, his contract value will vary. The standard rookie deal is four years, so that applies across the board, but their salaries, signing bonuses and total value depend on their draft slot.
Spotrac has those numbers down for all rookies. Here’s how they project for the Bills:
2023 NFL draft: CBS Sports calls Justin Shorter a ‘questionable’ pick by the #Bills:
CBS Sports named a “questionable” selection for every NFL team at the 2023 draft. For the Buffalo Bills, the answer is a two-fold one.
The Bills’ fifth-round pick of Justin Shorter was named. A wideout who was once the top player at his position during his high school recruiting year, Shorter had mix production in college which led to his transfer to Florida.
On Shorter, here’s how CBS Sports came to their conclusion:
Shorter is an athletically gifted tall wide receiver but that never translated to production on the field. When watching eventual No. 4 overall selection Anthony Richardson, his wide receivers were often dropping passes, breaking routes off too soon or getting squeezed by defenders. Shorter did not have a drop all season, according to TruMedia, but Buffalo is going to need more consistency out of him.
Shorter being selected is surprising for multiple reasons. Using a Day 3 pick on someone like Shorter, who was once touted, isn’t the worst idea in the world. Buffalo could be confident in their coaching staff to get that potential out of him.
And if they don’t? Well, he was a Day 3 pick… Not all of those work out.
But highlighting Shorter brings another Bills draft pick to mind: Dorian Williams. Others believe Buffalo’s third-round rookie is not a fit to replace Tremaine Edmunds, who signed with the Chicago Bears during free agency.
In selecting Shorter, CBS Sports does acknowledge a level of confidence in Williams–Now it remains to be seen if the Bills share that idea in 2023.
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A rundown of where all of the #Bills’ 2023 NFL draft picks were ranked on “big boards” before the event, including Kiper, McShay, & more:
The Buffalo Bills did not leave the 2023 NFL draft with the largest of hauls. After a few trades, the Bills added six players in total.
But most of that six pack was well known throughout the pre-draft process. Some of these newest Bills players ranked very high on the big boards of NFL draft analysis.
Here’s a full board-by-board look at where all six selections the Bills made ranked on 2023 NFL draft big boards before the event:
2023 NFL draft: Highlights of every new #Bills rookie:
The Buffalo Bills welcomed a new crop of rookies in the 2023 NFL draft, six in total.
At the top is Dalton Kincaid. The tight end was dubbed the top pass-catching prospect at his position in the draft and the Bills got him. But all of Buffalo’s fresh faces are bringing something to table.
Let the tape do the talking for them.
Here are highlight of every new Bills rookie:
Every NFL draft has its selection of steals — those players who could surprise despite their low selections — and here’s one for every NFL team.
One of the many reasons the Kansas City Chiefs won Super Bowl LVII was the job that general manager Brett Veach did outside of the first round of the 2022 draft. Three defensive backs (Bryan Cook in the second round, Joshua Williams in the fourth, and Jaylen Watson in the seventh) were difference-makers all season, and seventh-round running back Isiah Pacheco became the team’s bellcow back down the stretch. Also, second-round receiver Skyy Moore joined Pacheco with touchdowns in that Super Bowl victory over the Eagles.
First-round hits are nice, but it’s almost worse to miss in the first round than it is better to win there from an opportunity cost perspective. If you want to refresh your roster at a championship level, you had better get those picks right on the second and third day. Veach and his staff did that, and it was the difference that made all the difference in the end.
Moving to the 2023 NFL draft, we’ve selected one second- or third-day pick for every NFL team who could have a similar impact on their NFL roaters sooner than mater. Each of these players have reasons for their relatively low picks in line with their tape, stats, and talent, but these are the kinds of finds that can turn a team around over time.
