The Buffalo Bills are going through a hefty roster overhaul in 2018, but the offensive line remains a major question mark. Here are three reasons to be concerned with this unit.
Watching rookie quarterback Josh Allen being sacked five times during the Buffalo Bills’ 26-13 Week 3 preseason loss to the Cincinnati Bengals paints a troubling picture.
Buffalo’s offensive line could be a serious problem in 2018.
In fairness to head coach Sean McDermott and Co., the Bills are going through the initial stages of a massive roster overhaul. During the offseason, McDermott changed out more than a handful of positions, headlined by moving former starting quarterback Tyrod Taylor to the Cleveland Browns and aggressively moving up in the 2018 NFL Draft to grab Allen.
The O-line, however, underwent plenty of changes too. Linemen Cordy Glenn (trade), Eric Wood (injury settlement) and Richie Incognito (retirement) are all of the picture.
On a positive note, Buffalo has a good deal of veteran experience. The team grabbed veteran center Russell Bodine in free agency, and he’ll compete directly with Ryan Groy for starting duties.
Aside from second-year tackle Dion Dawkins, however, there isn’t exactly a ton of upside from this unit heading towards the regular season.
Sal Maiorana of the Rochester Democrat and Chronicle elaborated on the concerns:
Experience isn’t the issue the skeptics are raising; it has more to do with the level of talent. [Defensive tackle Kyle] Williams is right in that the six aforementioned players all have at least three years of NFL experience, but what has fans and media vexed is whether this group can protect the quarterback, whoever that is, and win up front enough in the run game to give LeSean McCoy a chance, especially when the Bills figure to see plenty of eight-man boxes this season.
Maiorana highlights the first of many concerns for Buffalo’s O-line heading into 2018. So let’s take a look at some reasons why this unit could struggle this season, starting off with that eight-man box theory.
