Top 3 Bills players to watch against the Rams in Week 1

The Buffalo Bills and Los Angeles Rams will kick off the 2022 NFL season on Thursday night, and frankly, NFL fans couldn’t ask for a better and more exciting inter-conference matchup to start the year. This is a potential Super Bowl preview of two teams that have built outstanding rosters with superstars on either side of the ball. The Bills, in particular, may be the class of the NFL in 2022 when it comes to how good their roster is from top to bottom.

General manager Brandon Beane and head coach Sean McDermott have built themselves a true powerhouse with a second unit that could rival a few starting lineups around the NFL. The Bills bring talent in waves, but there are some key players going up against the Los Angeles Rams that we’ll have a close eye on.

We’re not going to focus on the obvious — quarterback Josh Allen — because everyone is going to be watching the quarterbacks with great intent in this game. Allen is undoubtedly an NFL MVP candidate and one of the top playmakers in all of football, but there are plenty of other names on this Buffalo roster that will be key if the Bills are going to come out to Los Angeles and get a win over the reigning Super Bowl champion Rams.

3 Buffalo Bills players who will be key in beating the Los Angeles Rams

1. Von Miller, EDGE

Von Miller’s 2022 season will begin where his 2021 season ended — in Los Angeles. After getting traded to the Rams by the Denver Broncos at the deadline last year, Miller ended up being a key reason why Los Angeles was able to hoist its second Lombardi in franchise history. Even entering his age 33 season, there is very little reason to believe that Von Miller is slowing down anytime soon.

The Bills signed Miller to a six-year deal worth $120 million this past offseason, and while a lot of that contract is non-guaranteed money to help the Bills fit Miller under their salary cap for the next couple of seasons, the deal he got just months before his 33rd birthday is indicative of his current level of play.

Buffalo is paying Miller $20 million per year on average to get after the quarterback and wreak havoc off the edge. Although Miller is an all-time great, he was sort of second-fiddle to Aaron Donald in Los Angeles. He’s back to being the frontman for the Buffalo Bills as the leader of that pass rush unit and a player Buffalo is counting on to get past the Kansas City Chiefs when the time comes.

Against the Rams, Miller has a chance to whoop up on a couple of his former teammates, including new left tackle Joe Noteboom. If Miller is lined up on that side of the field (he usually faced the right tackle in his time with the Broncos) that will be a matchup to watch all game to see how much help the Rams have to give Matthew Stafford on his blind side.

Keep in mind, there is a rather peculiar injury issue going on with Stafford at the moment. Something with his throwing arm that is supposedly going to be popping up throughout the season. These issues date back to last season, so it’s nothing new for Stafford, but the Rams have to be cognizant of how much he’s getting hit. And with Von Miller coming off the edge for Buffalo, that could be a recipe for disaster if you’re the Rams.

2. James Cook, RB

The Buffalo Bills are predictably being coy about their intentions with rookie running back James Cook, a star for them in preseason play. Cook will be sharing the load with Devin Singletary and Zack Moss, but I think you can expect a pretty healthy dose of the rookie out of Georgia against the Los Angeles Rams.

Singletary has been effective, for his part, as an NFL back. As a former third-round pick, he’s averaged about 1,000 yards from scrimmage in his first three NFL seasons and had a career-best eight total touchdowns last year. He also had a career-high five fumbles, and the Bills knew they needed to upgrade at the running back position in the 2022 offseason.

Enter James Cook, the brother of Minnesota Vikings running back Dalvin Cook, who could be the secret weapon of this Buffalo offensive attack.

The key for the rookie Cook is going to be all about doing the little things well. When he’s asked to throw a big block in pass protection on third down, is he going to get the job done? When Josh Allen looks to him as an outlet in scramble drill, can he not only catch a pass but get upfield and pick up a first down to extend drives? Can he keep the Bills’ offense efficient in the red zone by finishing off long drives with touchdown runs?

There are a lot of checkpoints for rookies in terms of earning the trust of a coaching staff, especially when you’re talking about the Bills already having a guy like Devin Singletary who has played a lot of football for them, someone who knows their system like the back of his hand.

Cook is talented. The Bills invested a second-round pick in him. Going up against the Los Angeles Rams on national TV, this could be a coming-out party for the rookie who was another face in the crowd on a loaded Georgia roster but could be a major difference maker now for an NFL team in Buffalo with Super Bowl aspirations.

3. Gabriel Davis, WR

After what we saw from him against the Kansas City Chiefs in the playoffs last year, I think it’s safe to say that everyone in the NFL community is eager to find out what the encore will be for young receiver Gabriel Davis. It feels like Davis truly achieved superstardom overnight with the performance he put forth against the Kansas City Chiefs in last season’s all-time classic playoff matchup.

• 8 receptions
• 201 yards
• 4 touchdowns

Keep in perspective the fact that Davis had just 35 receptions and six touchdowns all of last season. His breakout against the Kansas City Chiefs was legendary, and it seems to have vaulted him into the obvious WR2 role in one of the most prolific passing attacks across the NFL. Jalen Ramsey will almost undoubtedly be spending a ton of time covering Stefon Diggs in this game, which is must-see-TV in its own right, but that also means that Gabriel Davis is going to be getting the more favorable matchups.

As a result, we could see Josh Allen looking his way rather consistently. Don’t be shocked to see another 10 targets or more heading Davis’ way in this game. Will he come down with another four touchdowns against the Rams? Not likely, but at the same time, who knows? This game could get crazy in terms of the scoring although it’s hard to know going into it if these two teams are just going to be able to cut loose offensively right from the get-go.

No matter what, Gabriel Davis is going to be arguably the key player offensively for the Buffalo Bills against the Los Angeles Rams. He’s got to take advantage of his matchups and prove that he’s no longer just a fun WR3 or WR4 option with upside, but that he’s a clear WR2 or even WR1B behind Diggs.