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The 2013 NFL Draft is still squarely in our rearview mirror, and that is precisely when I like to make my first, off-the-cuff Buffalo Bills 53-man roster projection of the year. It's a time of the year when fans are focused on new faces and undrafted free agents; this is a great way not just to spark a little debate, but to re-focus on what the shape of the final roster may be.
Of course, it's absurdly early in the year to do this, as well. It's possible (heck, maybe even likely) that the Bills will continue to tweak the roster through the spring and summer months, particularly as a new coaching staff gets a longer look at some of the players inherited from Chan Gailey's teams. Yet it's not a completely useless exercise, either, for the reasons listed above. (On a side note: I went back and found this projection from last year, also written on April 30, and 44 of the 53 names ended up on the opening day roster. Boom.)
Not knowing exactly what the defense will look like or how Doug Marrone and his coaches will evaluate the talent on hand makes this kind of exercise far more difficult than it was last season. My projection is below; leave your issues with it (and your own projections, if you dare be so bold) in the comments section.
Pos. | # | Starter | # | Backup | # | Reserve |
WR | 11 | T.J. Graham | # | Da'Rick Rogers* | ||
TE | 84 | Scott Chandler | 85 | Lee Smith | 89 | Chris Gragg* |
LT | 77 | Cordy Glenn | 72 | Zebrie Sanders | ||
LG | 74 | Colin Brown | 71 | Sam Young | ||
C | 70 | Eric Wood | 61 | David Snow | ||
RG | 60 | Kraig Urbik | ||||
RT | 75 | Chris Hairston | 79 | Erik Pears | ||
WR | 10 | Robert Woods* | 88 | Marquise Goodwin* | ||
WR | 13 | Stevie Johnson | 16 | Brad Smith | ||
QB | 4 | Kevin Kolb | 3 | E.J. Manuel* | # | Jeff Tuel* |
RB | 28 | C.J. Spiller | 22 | Fred Jackson | 20 | Tashard Choice |
NT | 99 | Marcell Dareus | 90 | Alan Branch | 98 | Torell Troup |
DT | 95 | Kyle Williams | 92 | Alex Carrington | 96 | Jarron Gilbert |
RE | 94 | Mario Williams | 93 | Mark Anderson | ||
SLB | 91 | Manny Lawson | # | Jerry Hughes | ||
MLB | 50 | Kiko Alonso* | 51 | Chris White | 52 | Arthur Moats |
WLB | 53 | Nigel Bradham | 43 | Bryan Scott | 54 | Marcus Dowtin |
RCB | 24 | Stephon Gilmore | ||||
FS | 31 | Jairus Byrd | 27 | Duke Williams* | ||
SS | 23 | Aaron Williams | 25 | Da'Norris Searcy | 36 | Jonathan Meeks* |
NCB | 33 | Ron Brooks | 26 | Justin Rogers | ||
LCB | 21 | Leodis McKelvin | 29 | Crezdon Butler | ||
K | 5 | Dustin Hopkins* | ||||
P | 6 | Shawn Powell | ||||
LS | 65 | Garrison Sanborn |