Buffalo Bills 2015 Profiles: Bryce Brown

The Buffalo Bills most publicized position battle in training camp will be at the quarterback position, as former first-round pick E.J. Manuel will try to resuscitate his career but will have to beat out former New England Patriots, Kansas City Chiefs, and Minnesota Vikings quarterback Matt Cassel for the starting gig. Cassel might be the early favorite after the Bills made the move to trade for him, but it’s a wide-open competition. In fact, Rex Ryan has been touting backup Tyrod Taylor as someone to watch, but it’s hard to see Taylor doing much damage, even if the Bills are willing to give him a fair crack at the job.

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But while the quarterback competition will have the most eyes, the competition for spots behind LeSean McCoy will be almost as interesting to watch. It’s clear that the Bills will use McCoy as their workhorse after trading Kiko Alonso for him, but they also have a large group of capable backs behind him in Anthony Dixon, Fred Jackson, another former Eagle in Bryce Brown, and Florida State rookie Karlos Williams.

It’s hard to tell who is safe beyond Williams, who will be given every chance to develop as a guy with a great combination of size and speed. Dixon was the Bills most efficient back on a per-carry basis last season behind an atrocious offensive line (the Bills had to go out and sign Richie Incognito as one of their first moves of the offseason), and it’s hard to see the team parting ways with the well-rounded and tough Jackson despite his age.

That seemingly leaves Brown as the odd man out, but the truth is that the Bills running back competition is too tough to call at this early point in the offseason. We don’t know what Greg Roman and the new coaching staff are looking for in the backups, we don’t know how much loyalty they’ll have to show to Jackson, and we don’t even know who will perform the best with the pads on.

What we do know is that Brown is in the final year of his contract with just $660,000 on his deal. He’s cheap, but he also doesn’t carry a cap hit, so the Bills can release him without any issues. That means Brown has a bit of an uphill battle in a crowded running back situation.

Last season, he averaged a career-low 3.5 yards per carry behind that aforementioned offensive line after averaging 4.9 and 4.2 YPC in the 2012 and 2013 seasons for the Philadelphia Eagles (16 appearances). Brown has always been a pretty efficient back with some playmaking ability, and the major knock on him in Philly was the fact that he would fumble the ball too frequently. He’s lost just one fumble in the past two seasons, but we’ll see if the fumbles become an issue once the running back competition heats up in August.

Although Brown didn’t do much of anything with his 36 opportunities on the ground last year, he did manage to catch, per Pro Football Focus, 16 passes on 22 targets for 176 yards, averaging an excellent 11.0 yards per reception. That’s a hefty sum for a running back, and PFF also tabbed him with three missed tackles forced after initially receiving the ball. With even more yard after the catch per reception, 11.4, than yards per reception, Brown was a real threat with the ball in his hands last season.

Dec 14, 2014; Orchard Park, NY, USA; Buffalo Bills running back Bryce Brown (35) runs the ball during the first half against the Green Bay Packers at Ralph Wilson Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Timothy T. Ludwig-USA TODAY Sports

Of course, it was a limited sample, and Brown’s 16 receptions in seven appearances for the Buffalo Bills last year were a career high. Perhaps the Bills were the first to unlock some potential in Brown, who dropped one pass, as a pass-catcher out of the backfield, and that could be a minor storyline to watch for in camp.

He’ll have to prove his value on passing downs in order to set himself apart and stick on the roster, especially since the veteran F-Jax, who caught a whopping 66 passes last year, is well-regarded for his work on third downs and other passing situations.

As a whole, the Bills liked using their backs as receivers last year, but that could change with a new coaching staff in place. Whether or not that affects the current situation remains to be seen, and it’s yet another unknown variable in predicting this interesting RB competition.

Bryce Brown is just 24 and on his rookie contract, and there’s no doubt that he has plenty of upside. In fact, he might have even more upside than the rookie Williams, and there’s no doubt that he has more natural ability right now than Jackson and Dixon.

But the Bills already have a dynamic feature back in Shady and a project rookie they like, so they might prefer consistency at the position instead.

Brown’s mental mistakes and fumbles have prevented him from receiving a bigger role, so his best shot at carving out a significant role could very well be with another NFL team in 2015.

Next: Predicting Bills starting QB

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