Post-NFL Draft Buffalo Bills depth chart, 2019

The Buffalo Bills entered the 2019 offseason with many holes on their roster. They addressed a very large number of them in the first few days of free agency and continued building depth. Here is where the roster stands following the 2019 NFL Draft. We aren’t including undrafted free agents until the team announces them officially.

The offensive line is completely up in the air. Is Dion Dawkins the left tackle or are they moving him to guard? Are they thinking long-term or short-term? The only thing set on the line is Mitch Morse at center, so we’re giving our best guess that the drafting of Cody Ford means a bit of a shake-up on the offensive line, which we note below.

Note: Players are listed in alphabetical order in the body of the article but an unofficial depth chart appears at the end of the article. Free-agent additions are marked with an * and draft picks are marked with a +

Quarterback

Josh Allen
Derek Anderson
Matt Barkley

This position would seem to be set with the “franchise quarterback,” veteran backup, and veteran mentor roles all neatly slotted. They have reportedly added two quarterbacks in the early UDFA period, so the competition looks to be for a backup spot.

Running Back

Patrick DiMarco
Keith Ford
Frank Gore*
LeSean McCoy
Marcus Murphy
Devin Singletary+
Senorise Perry*
Christian Wade*
T.J. Yeldon*

Will LeSean McCoy be the lead back in 2019? Buffalo needed to get younger here, so they drafted Singletary in the third round and signed Yeldon. Buffalo released Chris Ivory after signing Gore, but will the Bills keep a four-headed monster at RB plus special teams options? Something’s got to give.

Wide Receiver

Cole Beasley*
Victor Bolden, Jr.
John Brown*
Robert Foster
Zay Jones
Ray-Ray McCloud III
Isaiah McKenzie
Cam Phillips
Andre Roberts*
Da’Mari Scott
D’haquille Williams*

Buffalo churned this portion of their roster most in 2019 free agency. John Brown and Cole Beasley should be in line for a ton of playing time in 2019, knocking Robert Foster to a complementary role. Former draft picks will need to work hard just to keep a roster spot.

Tight End

Jason Croom
Dawson Knox+
Tyler Kroft*
Jake Fisher*
Tommy Sweeney+

Kroft is the de facto starter and has the most playing time at the NFL level. Croom hasn’t proven anything at the NFL level. Fisher was a tackle on the Cincinnati Bengals until this offseason, when he switched to tight end full-time. Knox is a developmental prospect, but should see playing time as a rookie while Sweeney seems like a practice squad candidate.

Interior O-line

Russell Bodine
Ike Boettger
Vlad Ducasse
Jon Feliciano*
Spencer Long*
Mitch Morse*
Quinton Spain*
Wyatt Teller

Morse is the only player on the o-line set in stone, as his lucrative contract offer has him Sharpied in as the team’s center for the foreseeable future. The two guard spots are wide open at this point.

Offensive tackle

Dion Dawkins
Cody Ford+
Conor McDermott
Ty Nsekhe*
Jeremiah Sirles
LaAdrian Waddle*

We originally slid Dawkins over to guard, but Brandon Beane said Monday that he’s going to open the offseason as the left tackle. They said Ford was going to begin his NFL career at tackle but can slide inside to guard. He’s going to man the right tackle position while Nsekhe is the likely swing tackle.

Defensive End

Eli Harold*
Jerry Hughes
Darryl Johnson, Jr.+
Shaq Lawson
Mike Love
Trent Murphy
Eddie Yarbrough

Buffalo has a lot of uncertainty around this group, as Hughes, Lawson, Yarbrough, and Harold aren’t under contract past 2019. Johnson was a seventh-round draft choice that projects from a 3-4 OLB to a 4-3 DE prospect.

Defensive Tackle

Star Lotulelei
Ed Oliver+
Kyle Peko
Harrison Phillips
Jordan Phillips
Robert Thomas

Jordan Phillips just signed a medium-sized contract extension to be a major part of the rotation following the retirement of Kyle Williams. Oliver was drafted ninth overall to be the main replacement for Williams on the line and should be penned in with starter reps.

Linebacker

Lorenzo Alexander
Maurice Alexander*
Tremaine Edmunds
Vosean Joseph+
Deon Lacey
Matt Milano
Julian Stanford
Corey Thompson

Lorenzo Alexander will probably play some defensive line as a pass-rushing specialist in addition to his role at linebacker. Maurice Alexander has starting experience at safety and could be a passing down presence. With two young studs, this position might be the most set on the roster. Joseph is a developmental prospect who will need to stand out on special teams to make the roster.

Cornerback

E.J. Gaines*
Kevin Johnson*
Taron Johnson
Ryan Lewis
Lafayette Pitts
Denzel Rice
Levi Wallace
Tre’Davious White

Buffalo needed another cornerback capable of playing significant snaps and seemingly found two in Kevin Johnson and E.J. Gaines. Taron Johnson’s injury meant a safety was playing nickel cornerback a year ago and Wallace was the team’s fourth choice at outside cornerback behind Vontae Davis, Phillip Gaines, and Ryan Lewis.

Safety

Rafael Bush
Micah Hyde
Jaquan Joseph+
Dean Marlowe
Siran Neal
Jordan Poyer

Bush was the team’s third safety in 2018 and played Big Nickel cornerback, as well. Joseph is a player who was expected to go higher in the draft. He can sit and learn behind the two top safeties and play some special teams for now.

Specialists

Corey Bojorquez (punter)
Cory Carter (punter)
Reid Ferguson (long snapper)
Stephen Hauschka (kicker)
Andre Roberts (kick returner)*

The Bills are going to have a Cory/Corey battle at punter, it would seem. Both ended the year on injured reserve after different injuries. Hauschka was also hurt and struggled down the stretch, but we’d be surprised if they moved on from him. Ferguson just signed an extension.

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Unofficial depth chart

Editor’s note: An earlier version of this article had Dion Dawkins moved to guard. With Brandon Beane’s comments on Monday, we moved him back to tackle.