:format(webp)/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/59612709/usa_today_10807936.0.jpg)
With the Buffalo Bills adding what appears will be their quarterback of the future in Josh Allen and a stud linebacker in Tremaine Edmunds in the 2018 draft, it bears asking how the Bills roster now stacks up against the rest of the teams in the NFL.
Bleacher Report draft analyst Chris Simms has put together his post-draft power rankings for all 32 teams, where the Bills check in at No. 17.
“The Buffalo Bills are at No. 17, though their roster is better than the 17th-best in the NFL. The big thing for me is the quarterback position,” Simms wrote. “Will AJ McCarron be the starter this season? Will Josh Allen unseat him? We don’t know. Allen is supremely talented but could easily get off to a bad start, and McCarron is unproven. Don’t get me wrong, Allen was my favorite quarterback in the draft and can be a superstar. The Bills got their next Jim Kelly, but he is going to take time to develop.”
While he has major concerns about the Bills offense, particularly at quarterback, Simms praises head coach Sean McDermott and Brandon Beane for the moves they’ve made on the opposite side of the ball.
“I love what Sean McDermott and Brandon Beane are building, though. Adding guys like Vontae Davis, Star Lotulelei and Trent Murphy was smart. These are proven players that fit McDermott’s defensive scheme. Buffalo also added one of the draft’s best defenders in linebacker Tremaine Edmunds.
“The Bills were a playoff team last season and can be again in 2018. I just have to question whether a quarterback with only a handful of starts or a rookie can lead them there.”
The Bills dropped in every other power ranking, and even come in as the third-worst team in the NFL in one of them.
USA Today
USA Today treated the Bills pretty rough. They have Buffalo ranked as the 30th-best team in the league right now, in front of only the New York Jets and Indianapolis Colts. The justification for the steep drop is how unproven the Bills are at so many key positions, (QB, WR, OL).
NFL.com
Elliott Harrison does the NFL.com power rankings and he has the Bills rolling in at 20, dropping one spot from the last power rankings. Harrison says that the only reason they’re that low is because the Josh Allen choice of QB doesn’t help the Bills in Week one of 2018, but he believes the roster should still compete.