Buffalo Bills: Free agency period improved offense at all three levels

Before the 2019 NFL Draft takes place, the Buffalo Bills have already done a solid job of building a competent offense around quarterback Josh Allen.

It’s safe to say the Buffalo Bills did not provide a strong supporting cast for Josh Allen during his rookie season in the NFL. To be fair, Allen’s predecessor, Tyrod Taylor, wasn’t dealt the best hand in terms of talented skill players around him, despite leading the Bills to a 9-7 record and a Wild Card berth in the 2017 NFL season.

Part of the lack of spending on talent is the style of football that head coach Sean McDermott prefers to play and has installed in Western New York. McDermott builds teams that are predicated on running the football and playing stout defense while creating turnovers and big plays on the defensive side of the ball.

This explains why the Bills have been reluctant to splurge on wide receivers and tight ends, instead opting to pay offensive lineman in recent years, such as Richie Incognito, who was one of the best interior run blocking lineman in the NFL. In 2017, the Bills ran on 47.88 percent of their offensive plays (second most in NFL), and followed that up with running on 46.43 percent of their offensive plays in 2018 (fourth most in NFL).

The Bills’ rushing attack ranked ninth in the NFL, which sounds good on the surface, but this is an evolving league that requires teams to throw the ball more frequently and effectively. Buffalo ranked 30th in the league in point per game (16.8) behind their 31st ranked passing attack in terms of yards per game, while throwing a league worst 13 touchdowns.

Adding more weapons on offense was an obvious mission this offseason, and they did exactly that before the NFL Draft at all three levels. Here are the additions to those levels and how they help they are tailored to help Josh Allen in his second season.