A new season of “Buffalo Bills: Embedded” premiered on the team’s website and Youtube channel Sunday night, serving as a fascinating behind-the-scenes offseason snapshot for Bills fans. According to producer Michelle Girardi, the series is a chance for “fans to see how great this team is, how great our players are and the positive things that we see in the offseason everyday that the average fan doesn’t get to see.” While the four episodes have some nice off-the-field moments, particularly with Micah Hyde and Jordan Poyer, the really revealing moments involved the new Bills rookies and the front-office decision makers. Here are three highlights that stood out:
Prospect personality quiz
The second episode of the series, titled “Upgrading,” was themed around the draft. General manager Brandon Beane was heavily featured along with some of the scouting heads you normally don’t see a lot. During the portion featuring the NFL Combine, player interviews with Ed Oliver, Cody Ford and Devin Singletary were seen and the Bills’ staff were shown asking the same question of each of them: “Would you rather be considered smart or tough?” As Beane explains, “There’s not really a wrong answer” to the question, “you just like to see how they answer it.” So much of the draft process is scripted for prospects, and this question is clearly one of the ways the Buffalo front office likes to keep prospects off script and a bit on their toes.
David Sills V: number-one UDFA target
Bills assistant general manager Joe Schoen was the star of the early portion of episode three, titled “Learning the Process.” With the camera crew following him around while on his phone and in impromptu meetings, Schoen was putting on a full-court press to bring in former West Virginia wide receiver David Sills V. Sensing some uncertainty from Sills’s camp, Schoen was quick to highlight to his agent that the team didn’t draft a wide receiver and was looking for a tall, long target for Allen. Ostensibly after Schoen got off the phone, Josh Allen and Matt Barkley were the next in line to try to persuade Sills to sign, and even owner Terry Pegula was able to pitch the opportunity to the young man. All the attention obviously worked, with Sills signing immediately following the draft.
Tremaine Edmunds learning leadership
A significant portion towards the end of the third episode featured the youngest player on the team—middle linebacker Tremaine Edmunds. It’s only fitting that an episode entitled “Learning the Process” would end with the second-year player interviewing former Bills linebacking legend London Fletcher. The questions Edmunds asked the four-time Pro Bowler were less Xs and Os and more about his mindset and his leadership style, “That’s your job: to command and demand the best from your teammates each and every practice. I challenge my guys, I get in their face, but I also challenge myself too.” It looks like we can expect Edmunds to take over that defensive leadership mantel in 2019.