Buffalo Bills Predicted to Swipe #1 Overall Pick in 2019
By Erik Lambert
The Buffalo Bills made the playoffs in 2017 for the first time since 1999. One would think fans should be encouraged about the direction this team is heading.
Except that team was basically blown to smithereens by the Bills brass during this subsequent offseason. Eric Wood retired. Tyrod Taylor and Cordy Glenn were both traded. Richie Incognito retired. Their best player LeSean McCoy is also a year older. It’s hard to feel like this team got better. If anything there’s a consensus they got a lot worse.
They gave up proven players for a bunch of “maybes.” Top draft pick Josh Allen has a world of talent but didn’t show it enough at Wyoming. Tremaine Edmunds is basically the exact same thing, just on the defensive side of the ball. Chris Ivory is hardly a favorable backup to McCoy and prized receiver Zay Jones went crazy during the offseason, leading to an arrest.
Everything about this team has shifted from “win now” to “maybe we’ll win in 2020.” In fact, optimism is so low that they’re expected to crash to earth hard this year.
MMQB sees Bills as runaway favorites to secure #1 pick
Jonathan Jones of the MMQB released his record predictions for every NFL team this coming season. As expected the Patriots held the best record in the league with the powerhouses of the NFC close behind. Yet it was his prediction for the Bills that will catch the eye: an ugly 2-14 finish that stood alone as the worst mark on the entire list. His reasoning wasn’t hard to decipher.
"“The 2017 Bills team depended on LeSean McCoy racking up yards, low-risk quarterback play and an opportunistic defense. It’s tough to see two of those three happening in 2018. Buffalo’s receiving group shouldn’t be feared, so that means defenses will keep focusing on the run. The Bills lost Eric Wood to retirement, Richie Incognito to… something and traded away Cordy Glenn, so good luck running the ball.A stacked box means the quarterback will look to take chances down the field, and that’s a problem with first-rounder Josh Allen. He was the least-accurate and most turnover-prone top quarterback in the draft. It all spells a big step back for the surprise playoff team from 2017.”"
Next: 2018 NFL Power Rankings: Top 32 Quarterbacks In the NFL
It seems rather cruel to think Bills fans will be subjected to such a downturn of fortune so soon after tasting playoff football again. Then again that team has already subjected them to endless torture before. This seems like a new and creative way to go about it. Jokes aside the Bills seem to have embraced a full rebuild at this point. They’re banking on their massive influx of young bodies developing into their new core in the near future. It’s a major gamble and one that doesn’t always work out.