DT Harrison Phillips
At the start of the 2019 season, Harrison Phillips was having a hell of a few games. It’s really unfortunate that a knee injury ended things early. While Buffalo’s defensive line does appear pretty stocked, defensive tackle could be a lower level need for the team. Is Phillips going to be OK next year coming off such an injury? Many hope so, but nothing is guaranteed with such a situation.
Others on the inside of the line include Star Lotulelei, Ed Oliver and Vincent Taylor. Quinton Jefferson might play some 3-tech as well, but maybe he’s on the outside at defensive end more, we’ll have to see what the Bills’ plan for him is. But with the draft in mind, the Bills kept things status quo and decided to rollback most of the same interior of the D-line, a good sign for Phillips.
OC Brian Daboll
For many of the same reasons labeled for Allen, offensive coordinator Brian Daboll won big at the draft. His receiver group was already stocked with Stefon Diggs, John Brown and Cole Beasley, but now with the bigger targets, Daboll now has some more pages in the playbook he can dust off.
In addition, Moss brings that Frank Gore style of running. While Devin Singletary was a strong rookie for the Bills and will likely get a good look at being the No. 1 rusher, Daboll opted for Gore plenty last season. So he can still do that with Moss in the fold. If things go well for Allen, Daboll could be lost to a potential head coaching gig in the future.
DB Siran Neal
Losing Lorenzo Alexander the Bills lost a lot. A pass rusher and cover linebacker. There’s really no replacing such a guy, but a popular pre-draft prediction for the Bills was trying to replace his coverage skills via the big nickel cornerback spot.
Linebacker Matt Milano will help here too, but after not adding anyone here, Siran Neal is a big winner. He’ll get a chance to battle with Dean Marlowe for this slot in the slot. And don’t think this isn’t an important role, either. Buffalo played in a nickel defense 76 percent of the time last season, per Sports Info Solutions.
While the Bills didn’t take anyone at this position, Neal himself is still rather young. The Jacksonville State product was the Bills’ fifth-round pick in 2017, but 2020 will be an important year for him if he wants to stick around for the long-term.
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