32BeatWriters - What Fantasy Managers Need to Know: Inside the Bills with Matt Parrino
STACKED extracted the fantasy-relevant player signal from this podcast and kept the full transcript here for context.
43 min
Duration
Estimated from transcript
Jul 14, 2026
Published
Tue, July 14, 2026
22
Player insights
12
Players mentioned
Topics
Skyler BellDalton KincaidAlec AndersonJackson HawesSpencer BrownAustin CorbettConnor McGovernDavid EdwardsDawson KnoxDion DawkinsJosh AllenKeon Coleman
Player analysis
Player insights
Alec Anderson
PositiveRole0:36
Alec Anderson, a long-time jumbo tight end who can play all five positions, will likely get the opportunity to take over at left guard after David Edwards departed.
Insight pagePositiveProjection0:39
When Alec Anderson played left tackle for Spencer Brown last year, he had one of the best games any Bills offensive lineman had all season, demonstrating his capability.
Insight pageAustin Corbett
PositiveRole0:37
Veteran guard Austin Corbett was signed from the Panthers to compete for the left guard position.
Insight pageConnor McGovern
PositiveRole0:36
Center Connor McGovern was re-signed for big money to keep the center spot solidified with his relationship with Josh Allen.
Insight pageDalton Kincaid
PositiveProjection0:30
Kincaid's yards per catch have improved each season and reached career highs last year; if his rookie year receptions are multiplied by last year's yards per catch, he would project to nearly 1,100 yards.
Insight pagePositiveInjury0:31
Kincaid decided against knee surgery on the same knee that has been an issue for two or three seasons, instead opting to continue strengthening it through the offseason program.
Insight pagePositiveProjection0:32
Kincaid has been putting in significant work in the gym this offseason with visible physical improvements, and when healthy he is "as good as anybody in the league," with potential to be the receiving leader and take the offense to another level.
Insight pagePositiveProjection0:33
If Kincaid can finally get over the health hump and stay on the field, he could end up being the receiving leader and fulfill his draft role as a Travis Kelce-type player.
Insight pageDavid Edwards
NegativeDepth Chart0:36
Left guard David Edwards, one of the Bills' best offensive linemen over the last couple of years, was allowed to leave in free agency to the New Orleans Saints.
Insight pageDawson Knox
PositiveRole0:33
Dawson Knox is the ever-present security blanket in the offense who will continue to steal some touchdowns from Kincaid, and is typically utilized when Kincaid is banged up or unavailable.
Insight pageDion Dawkins
NegativeRole0:36
Left tackle Deion Dawkins was critical for taking a ton of penalties when left on an island, and gave up sacks last year, contributing to Josh Allen getting hit more frequently.
Insight pageJackson Hawes
PositiveRole0:34
Jackson Hawes was a lucky fifth-round draft pick who could have been a second-round pick in 2026 given the league's shift to three tight ends; he is excellent in the run game and showcases catching ability.
Insight pagePositiveRole0:34
Hawes is the modern version of Dawson Knox—great in the run game and potentially even better than Knox in that area—and could end up stealing touchdowns from Kincaid.
Insight pageJosh Allen
NegativeMatchup0:35
Josh Allen took significantly more sacks in 2025 compared to 2024 when he set a career best with only 14 sacks, representing a notable step back in pass protection.
Insight pageKeon Coleman
PositiveBreakout0:21
Analyst is betting on Keon Coleman having a big year three after working with Stevie Johnson this offseason to develop new route-running tricks, stating "I'm betting on him doing it, and I'm betting on it with my opinion, not any cash."
Insight pageSkyler Bell
PositiveBreakout0:27
Analyst is "super high" on Skylar Bell, praising his college production at UConn where opposing defenses knew to stop him but he still torched them, and noting he can be used all over the formation in the Bills offense.
Insight pageNegativeInjury0:28
Bell suffered a quadriceps injury at the Senior Bowl during practice and had a shaky rookie camp performance with three drops, raising durability concerns for his first year.
Insight pagePositiveInjury0:28
Bell was held out of minicamp with a wrap on his left leg and did not practice, with uncertainty about whether it's a quad issue or precautionary, but all sides point to him being ready for day one of training camp.
Insight pageNegativeProjection0:29
If Bell suffers any setbacks during training camp, analyst will be hesitant to predict any grand year one impact, as missing time in camp would put him behind the eight ball.
Insight pagePositiveProjection0:29
If Bell makes it through training camp fully healthy and plays in every preseason game, his stock will rise significantly for year one impact.
Insight pageSpencer Brown
NegativeInjury0:37
Right tackle Spencer Brown has been banged up this offseason, raising concerns about the right side of the offensive line.
Insight pagePositiveProjection0:39
If Spencer Brown stays healthy, the right side with him and Torrance at their best would be elite, comparable to the Philadelphia Eagles' Super Bowl run right side.
Insight pageFull transcript
Episode Transcript
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0:46Welcome in, everyone. Today we are joined by one of the best, Matt Perino, who covers the bills for Syracuse.com, and has
0:53the show football, or the Buffalo football podcast, I should say.
0:56Matt, welcome in. Oh, thanks for having me. Yeah, absolutely.
0:59This is kind of my dead kind of year.
1:02You were just talking about it being super busy.
1:05This is like when I kind of have my summer vacation here.
1:09But as you get ramped up for 32 teams, I'd imagine the next couple of weeks, there's a lot of grinding and
1:16trying to catch up on, you know, everything that's happened for all these teams in the off season.
1:22So I'm glad to talk a little bills with you today.
1:25Yeah, absolutely. I mean, I think it's a super interesting team.
1:29I was, we were kind of talking about the dead zone as a team earlier.
1:34And one of the things that came up was like, there's like a million player weddings, apparently between now and training camp.
1:41So between practice and all this, a lot of guys have life events going on and whatnot.
1:46But their downtime is kind of our recap time.
1:49So what's up? Let's dive right in and kind of just get into it.
1:54You know, I think, obviously, just starting kind of with a quarterback and the offense, you know, Joe Brady moves from the
2:01offensive coordinator to the head coach, you know, a little bit of continuity, obviously, or a lot of continuity that way.
2:08Pete Carmichael comes in, you know, as the OC now.
2:11Do you see anything changing with how Josh Allen and this offense operate?
2:15Does Carmichael being the OC with this team bring anything that wasn't there in the past?
2:20How do you view Josh? How do you view this offense?
2:24So I think to start with the addition of Carmichael is really intriguing for one specific player, in my view.
2:30And I know we're going to talk about him in a minute, but it's James Cook.
2:35Because if you think back to those Sean Payton offenses in New Orleans, one of the figures outside of the quarterbacks that
2:42you think about that really carried that thing was Alvin Kamara.
2:46I mean, in his first five seasons, he had the most receptions by a running back in any five year span in NFL history.
2:54And I think that's one area. If you go back to Brandon Beane, when they drafted James Cook, they talked about him as a receiver at Georgia.
3:02Like that's one of the things that drew them into him.
3:06Now he's had some drop issues early on in his career, but he's been such a bell cow for them that he
3:13hasn't been as much of a feature part of the passing game, which I think is there's meat on the bone there
3:20to kind of tap into what he can be and what he can be.
3:24What he can add. So I think like running back screens is one area where Joe Brady has ran wide receiver bubble screens into the ground.
3:33Like it's mesh and it's the bubble screens. And like everybody kind of knows that's coming when you face a Bill's offense.
3:40But I think one part of the evolution of this offense with Carmichael here now to bring maybe a little bit of
3:47that Saints offense to this offense is getting Cook more involved in the passing game.
3:52Now, offensively, you got to think about this. From a 30,000 foot view perspective, Aaron Cromer, the offensive line coach who just retired.
3:59He was integral in their entire process. He called a lot of the run game.
4:04He was kind of a mentor to Joe Brady while working on his staff.
4:08They go out and they bring in Pat Meyer who worked for Cromer has some familiarity was on this coaching staff with
4:15Brady in Carolina, but that's a question going into this season.
4:19Like, is that going to be an area that takes a step back at all?
4:24Because the bills have one of the best offensive lines in football under Cromer the last couple of seasons.
4:30So that's definitely one area to watch. But I think you still have Josh Allen.
4:35You still have this unicorn at the position. You go out and you bring in DJ Moore, one of the, you know,
4:42probably the best receiver that Josh has played with since Stefan Diggs.
4:46And so I think that there's some some areas where this offense can improve.
4:50But I think Carmichael's biggest fingerprint is going to be maybe in the running back passing game.
4:56Well, no, and perfect transition, right? Let's let's dive in and talk about that.
5:00So obviously James Cook or James Cook has this tremendous season last year, right?
5:05You know, he gets over 300 carries. You know, you talked about the screen game a little and we can dive into that more.
5:12Do you see that number coming up again? Do you see more running backs in this room getting involved?
5:18The Ray Davis's of the world and so on?
5:21You know, what are the scenarios you see at play?
5:25What's a perfect world for you in the running back room?
5:28I think a perfect world is definitely getting Ray Davis involved a little bit more.
5:33I mean, he's been vocal this offseason about, you know, he loves playing on this team.
5:38You know, he's close with everybody in that running back room, but he'd be lying if he didn't say that there was
5:45a little bit of selfishness, wanting a little bit more of a role in the offense.
5:50And so I think that's going to be on Joe Brady to figure out a way to because over the years, like
5:57they've done a really good job of having two running backs find a way to make an impact.
6:03Last year was the first year where it really was a lot on James Cook.
6:08And I don't think that's any way to live in this league, like to that amount of workload on one single back.
6:15So I think Ty or Ty Johnson's also in the mix.
6:19He is more at third down. You're going to trust him in the gotta have it like, you know, pass protection moments.
6:26He is a great pass catcher out of the backfield.
6:29So maybe everything that I alluded to with Cook, maybe that unlocks Ty Johnson a little bit more.
6:35And we'll see, but I think Ray Davis to me, this is a fourth round draft pick who his rookie year when
6:42he got to run the ball, he was physical.
6:45He was urgent as a runner. And that's something that I think you could always find a place for that in your offense.
6:52So I think taking some of the, you know, the workload off of James, maybe trying to keep him fresh for the stretch run in the playoffs.
7:01I don't see any problem with that. And I think that should be kind of the goal for Brady and Carmichael.
7:07If it ain't broke, don't fix it. That sounds right until you actually do the math.
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8:31So let me ask you this. In perfect world, again, do you see any goal line work getting taken away from Cook?
8:38That's a good question. Outside of Alan. He's, yeah, right.
8:42And I wonder if even they take some of that off of his plate, Alan, at some point.
8:47I mean, he's getting older. Like, I don't know if you want him necessarily, especially how he gets his goal line work.
8:54Like, he's not like the Tom Brady fall forward at the one yard line QB sneak guy.
9:00He does that. But he also will like, you know, bootleg and run over linebackers and all this crazy stuff.
9:06Um, that's a good question. Like the thing with Cook, maybe the most impressive part of his development is how scary he is.
9:14Once you get into the red zone. Like, I don't think anybody predicted him to be the red zone threat that he was the goal.
9:22I think everybody thought he's not going to be a goal line back.
9:26And when they get five yards in, Cook is on the field.
9:30Like every single time. That's been the staple of this offense under Brady the last year.
9:35And really, it started to happen two years ago.
9:38He has a physical round. You remember, um, I think it was the Kansas City game and the divisional round loss two years ago.
9:45And the Bills ended up losing another three-point game.
9:48But there was one. It was a fourth and two.
9:52And Cook got the ball. I think it was maybe like a lateral or a throw, a toss.
9:57It might have been a run. And he was stopped dead to rights at the two-yard line.
10:03And he fought through the block and then, or the tackle.
10:06And then through another defender that was coming in, ends up reaching the ball over the goal line.
10:12It was one of the biggest plays, you know, in his career.
10:16In a gotta-have-it moment. And he's that kind of back in the red zone.
10:21So I don't necessarily think they're going to take a ton off of his play.
10:25But again, if you're trying to appease Ray Davis, maybe that's kind of a role that you can kind of get him into.
10:33Because he's also a very physical runner. Yeah, the Ray Davis vulture.
10:37You probably just scared everyone who's about to listen to this.
10:40I don't think it's coming, though. I don't think it's coming in a way that you should be scared to take Drake.
10:47Because when you have something like Joe Brady has, like an easy button to push, like James Cook has been in the red zone.
10:55That's not something that you're eager to get away from.
10:58And now, you could be starting to look at, like, seven-point touchdown catches, right?
11:03Like, because he's going to catch a pass, maybe, in the red zone and take it in if he's going to get more involved in the passing game.
11:12So I don't want to scare anybody too much off of James Cook.
11:16All right. Well, let's dive into the newest edition of this offense.
11:20And that's DJ Moore, right? Comes in. You alluded to it earlier.
11:23Could be outside of Diggs or even maybe comparison to Diggs in some cases.
11:28The best QB or best wide receiver that Josh Allen has played with.
11:32You know, you got to interview Joe Brady. He said he's excited for what Moore brings to this room.
11:38How do you see Moore fitting into this offense?
11:41Can we even expect a Diggs-like wide receiver one outcome?
11:44You know, what do you expect from Moore? How do you see him putting into this offense?
11:50It's hard, right? Because I asked Brady about if there's any one person we're not talking enough about that's going to have
11:57an impact in 2026, who would it be? And he landed on DJ Moore, which I think we're talking about him a lot.
12:04So the first reaction to that is, all right, this is going to be a real thing for this offense.
12:11Like, I think he trusts DJ Moore. Like, he's got all of that time that they spent together in Carolina.
12:17This is still, you know, I know that the numbers came down a little bit last year in Chicago.
12:23And honestly, full transparency, that's probably what made me lukewarm on the trade idea to begin with.
12:29But going back and watching that team and him last year, he's still the same guy.
12:34I mean, that play that he made in the Green Bay playoff game was astonishing.
12:39I mean, he has that kind of upside. And the one knock on Diggs over the course of his tenure, like since
12:46the Minnesota Miracle game in Minnesota, he has not played well in the playoffs.
12:50It continued with the Patriots last year. He had that big drop against the Chiefs in his final game with the Bills.
12:57Like, they need somebody that can, in big games when you've got to have it, win one-on-one, which I think DJ Moore
13:04has proven year in and year out that he's able to do against man coverage, against top-tier cornerbacks.
13:10And then that allows everybody else to eat. And I know that's kind of their cliche mantra over the last couple years.
13:17Everybody eats in this offense. Brady alluded to that, too.
13:20Like, there's going to be games where, you know, DJ Moore has four for 40.
13:25And people are going to be like, well, wait a second.
13:29You went out and traded and paid this guy.
13:32Why is he? Well, Brady's comeback to that is look around the rest of the room.
13:37Did Dolph and Cade have, you know, 10 catches for 100 yards in that game?
13:42Or maybe Khalil Shakir had 90 yards? Like, a bunch of touchdowns for the running.
13:46There's a bunch of ways that this offense can win.
13:50And that's how it's built. It's not built around any one guy.
13:54Because I think a lot of offenses that are like that, outside of, like, the Seattle Seahawks of the world, which, by
14:01the way, they had more than Jackson Smith and Jake.
14:04I mean, sure. And Walker's a little MVP, right?
14:07But that tends to get you in trouble when teams can game plan against one specific thing.
14:12The hard thing about playing the Bills is on any given game, you might have a key on Coleman that goes for
14:19100 like you did in the Ravens game last year.
14:22I know he's a whole separate conversation. But, like, you know, you have James Cook, the rushing leader.
14:28You have Dalton Kincaid, a former first-round pick who a lot of people are high on.
14:33I think Moore is the guy that comes in here, gives them a veteran in the room, gives them a guy that has had four 1,000-yard receiving seasons.
14:42And when the going gets tough, he's going to be somebody that Josh Allen can rely on.
14:48So I think that's the biggest piece is just having someone that has that high-end ability.
14:53And, you know, it gives you so much more versatility for the rest of your wide receiver room now that you have
15:00that number one that they haven't had over the last couple years.
15:04Yeah, no, it's a very interesting scenario, especially with the ability to pull, you know, guys away from other parts of the defense.
15:11Where do you see kind of more, like, is he an every formation guy?
15:16Why is, do you expect, and we're kind of diving into, I guess, a little bit more scheme here, but do you expect a regular rotation?
15:24You know, what do you predict his on-the-field usage is going to be?
15:28Well, so I think there's a couple ways to unpack that.
15:32I mean, he's 29 years old, just turned 29.
15:35I think he is right smack dab in the middle of his prime years.
15:39So he's somebody that I think the Bills would feel comfortable leaning on and giving that Stefan Diggs-like role to.
15:46But depending on how this offseason goes, like, if you get a healthy Josh Palmer, if Keon Coleman takes the steps that
15:53you need him to take, and you have some of these other – they love Tyrell Shavers, who had kind of a
16:00breakout season last year, had a couple of really big-time performances, ends up tearing his ACL in the Jacksonville playoff game, and
16:07plays 73% of the snaps in that game after he tore his ACL.
16:11He's like a dog. Like, everybody in the Jacksonville is like this guy.
16:15So, like, he'll be back at some point this season, and he's somebody that they love, and he'll be a part of things.
16:23But, no, I think more – expect, at the very least, like 70% of the snaps.
16:28I'm trying to pull up his snap count here.
16:31So, over the last couple of seasons, I mean, 85%, 94%, 90%, 96%.
16:35I don't think they're going to need him to hit that number.
16:39And at 29 years old, again, you want to keep him fresh, too.
16:43And if you have numbers to throw at this thing, one name to keep an eye on, Brandon Cooks, who was great
16:50for the Bills in a very short amount of time last year, obviously has a history with Pete Carmichael Jr.
16:56from their time in New Orleans together. It wouldn't shock me if he's not late in the – like, right before the
17:03start of training camp, in addition back to this room, to put a little pressure on Josh Palmer, on Keon Coleman.
17:10Because, you know, now you add – you know, you have Shakir in the slot.
17:15I know that they're going to try to work Keon Moore in the slot this year.
17:20And Moore is probably going to play 85% of the snaps as your number one receiver.
17:25I think getting a guy like Cooks at his age back into the mix is somebody that when there's an injury, all
17:32right, you have Brandon Cooks to go to, and he performed really well with Josh Allen last year.
17:38Very interesting on the Cooks thing. That's a great link to Carmichael and the offense as a whole.
17:44You know, definitely something to keep an eye out for there.
17:48So you kind of talked about it, and we're diving in kind of – we'll call it the wide receiver three from a production standpoint.
17:56You know, we have more. I feel like we know what we have in Shakir.
18:00And correct me if I'm wrong there. Please dive into any part of that that you want.
18:06But then the number three spot, we'll call it, is kind of all over the place like you were saying.
18:12We have Coleman. We have Palmer. I hope at some point we have Bell in there who we have our own little section for.
18:20And then Shavers, to your point, who do you see being the third most productive wide receiver on this team?
18:26And what's your thought behind it? Okay. Okay. So I'm setting myself up for ridicule for the second straight season because I am buying Keon Coleman stock.
18:35And a lot of people – it's funny because I've done a couple of OTA minicamp recaps.
18:41And, of course, Keon Coleman has looked great again in the practice setting.
18:45He was electric in training camp last year. Like Brandon has mentioned it, Brandon Bean, Joe Brady.
18:50I mean, there's a reason everybody was excited for him last year.
18:54And I just think that one of the biggest things about this regime change from McDermott to Brady is I do think
19:01there is a looseness under Brady that didn't exist under McDermott.
19:05He was a much more structured – I don't want to say structured because Brady's very structured.
19:10But, like, there was a lot of rigor in, like, his expectation.
19:14And I think the modern NFL head coach has to find a way to reach all of his players in different ways.
19:21And I think Sean was trying in a lot of ways with Keon.
19:25And for whatever reason, that didn't work. Brady has made it a priority from the moment he took this job to say
19:32that Keon Coleman is going to be a thing on this team.
19:36And so this is a guy that was high second-round pick, was somebody that, at times, we've talked about being the future
19:43number one wide receiver in this offense. And now there's all this other talent around him.
19:48You think about Dalton Kincaid when he's healthy as the best pass-catching tight end in the league last year, according to some of the advanced metrics.
19:57You have DJ Moore, who's now your number one.
20:00You have the rushing leader in the backfield in James Cook.
20:03Everywhere you have one of the best, if not the best, slot receiver in the NFL in Khalil Shakir.
20:09This is a talented bunch of skill players. And so if you think about that, it takes a lot of the pressure off Keon Coleman.
20:17If he now hits and he becomes like that third cog in this wide receiver wheel and somebody that can be relied
20:24upon to have six, seven, eight big-time games in a season, that changes everything for this offense.
20:30You think about it, it might be a little bit scary for the league.
20:34Like if all of a sudden Keon kind of taps into, and he's got a chip on his shoulder.
20:40He should. Like everybody's doubting him, right? Like everybody, I think about it.
20:45Like I have a son and he plays, you know, he's 12 years old.
20:49He plays little league baseball. And I think about all of the conversations I've had with other people about developing, like things that change over time.
20:57And even in high school and college. Yeah, Coleman's a 21-year-old kid coming into the NFL and wide-eyed.
21:03Like maybe things didn't go well from a maturity standpoint, but there's some good news in that.
21:09In that you do get some time to develop that.
21:12You do get to grow up a little bit in the league.
21:16And I think with this renewed emphasis on maturity, DJ Moore in the room, that guy that has done it at a
21:23high level that can kind of set the example and the standard, that might change things a little bit for Coleman.
21:30And the talent is there, dude. Like he's been working with Stevie Johnson this offseason, who is admittedly, I grew up a
21:37Buffalo Bills fan before I started covering the team.
21:40Stevie Johnson is my pound-for-pound favorite Bill of all time.
21:43The most underrated route runner. Like whenever you see former NFL players talking about the guys that were slept on in the
21:50league for their talent, Stevie Johnson is always brought up for his footwork, his route running, his way that he just set up defensive backs.
21:58To me, if you're sending Keon Coleman into that lab, he's going to come out of it with some new tricks.
22:05And I think we're going to see that over the next couple of weeks when we get to training camp.
22:11And then he's just got to, it's on him then to take it into the regular season.
22:16And I'm betting on him doing it, and I'm betting on it with my opinion, not any cash.
22:22I'm putting it out there that I do think Keon Coleman is going to have a big year three.
22:28We'll see if it happens. I mean, he almost, for his own sake, he almost has to be productive, right, to a degree.
22:36I mean, for confidence, for the future of him on the bills.
22:40I feel like all of that, like, I felt like to your point, he did get slighted.
22:45That whole controversy with the owner's comments and all that whole thing.
22:49It puts you in a, I couldn't imagine being a player and being in that spot.
22:54You know, like you fall and feel unwanted. Then the coaching staff brings you back and hypes you up.
23:00And I want to see the kid succeed. I mean, it sounds like he's doing all the right things this off season.
23:07I'm with you on this one. I'm going to put Keon Coleman in my circle of, I don't even know, circle of something to succeed this year.
23:16And I will just add in really quickly on Palmer.
23:19He is back in the role that he was in it with the Chargers, right?
23:24This is something that everybody that was in LA talked about when he signed with the Bills for, like, three years and, like, 24 million.
23:32Like, you're going to like the splashes that you get, but he's either hurt or he's coming back from an injury.
23:39And it always kind of keeps him in that wide receiver four role.
23:43And if that's all he can be this year, I think you take that and you're excited about it.
23:49And if he gets hurt, maybe you bring back a Brandon Cooks, like I mentioned, and that's fine.
23:55But when he was out there, like in that Atlanta game on Monday Night Football, he looked like the part.
24:01Like, he looked like he was on pace in that game for like 150 yards and maybe a touchdown or two.
24:08So if you have him as your wide receiver four, you'd do a lot worse in this league than that.
24:14Absolutely. I mean, I'm a UT season ticket holder.
24:17And I remember watching Josh Palmer and being probably overly excited about, you know, his potential in the league.
24:23But to your point, when he's healthy, he does play a role and he does have a skill set that can contribute.
24:30So good spot nonetheless, clearly a well-rounded receiving room, which perfect segue again.
24:35I think you're crushing the segue game right now.
24:38But going into Skylar Bell, I mean, I'm I thought there's an interesting pick.
24:42I am an absolute sucker for wide receiver production, especially receptions at the college level and it translating.
24:48I think in my short term memory, I always relate it back to like Fannin and his year last year.
24:54And just when a guy's relied on like that, I feel like it at least means that they have some kind of skill set that could contribute.
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26:52All things aside, how does he fit when he can get on the field?
26:56And what's just a good first year for Skylar Bell in Buffalo?
27:00It's a great question. It's hard because rookie wide receivers historically haven't performed well in this offense.
27:06Even go back as far as Gabe Davis, who had a couple of splash plays and then really took off in the
27:13playoff game against the Colts that first year. I mean, it's been tough to earn trust in this offense.
27:19And I think when you have a quarterback who's played in the league and played with some of the guys he's played with, that comes with it.
27:28I love the Skylar Bell edition. And I think the way that you set that up, you know, people overlook when guys
27:35do it at a high level, especially in a team like UConn, when every opposing defense knows in this game, we got to stop Skylar Bell.
27:43And he's still week in and week out torching people on his way to all of these unbelievable stats at the end of the season.
27:51And I'm super high on him. You can use him all over the formation.
27:55I think you can get in the backfield a little bit and some of the kind of funky different things that, you
28:03know, they've done in the past with like the McColl Hardman's of the world.
28:07And even before that, when it was Dable system, Isaiah McKenzie, there's still some flavor of that in this Joe Brady offense.
28:14So I think the sky's the limit. Here is where I'm maybe tempering expectations.
28:19He had a quadriceps injury at the senior bowl during practice.
28:22He went through the off season program here. Shaky rookie camp performance had three drops.
28:27Then absolutely took over in OTAs against anybody and everybody.
28:30He went up against Christian Benford, Maxwell Hairston, Davidson, Iggs Minosin.
28:34It didn't matter who he was going to get up against.
28:37He was making plays. We get to minicamp. He's out.
28:40He's got a big wrap on his left leg.
28:43He doesn't practice at all. I don't know if it's a quad.
28:47God that acting up or, and they just want to play it safe and get them ready for training camp.
28:54If he misses any time in training camp and he might all sides point to him being ready to go on day
29:01one, but can he make it through camp fully healthy?
29:04Like that's a question that I have going into it.
29:07Cause if he doesn't, that immediately puts you behind the eight ball.
29:11I've seen it even, even Palmer last year. I felt like he dealt with a hamstring injury as a first year free agent addition.
29:19By the time they got to the season, he was like healthy, but not really part of the offense for like three or four games.
29:27And then there were injuries. And then he got kind of thrust into a spot.
29:32Skylar Bell's got to be healthy for training camp.
29:34That's the best chance he has. You know, if he makes it all the way through camp plays in every preseason game by Skylar Bell stock.
29:43But if there's any setbacks during that time, I'm going to be hesitant to predict any kind of grand year one impact.
29:50So year one, obviously, I mean, I love you talked about what he can be in this offense.
29:56And I think that's probably the more exciting part of it.
29:59Right. You know, if, if year one doesn't go great.
30:02So it's, it's sounds like a great fit. It sounds like there's hope.
30:07It sounds like as long as he can get back to training camp, you do see him being on the field somewhat, you know, I assume.
30:15But a decently low snap count given the rest of what we talked about today, but also maybe a player that kind
30:22of forces you to put them on the field.
30:25If he can contribute kind of that college mantra over.
30:28So really interesting on Skylar Bell there. I don't want people to think we forgot, but the Dalton Kincaid, we talked, talked about him a little bit earlier.
30:37I feel like we are just waiting for Dalton Kincaid to break out and to play every game in his season and to just put it all together.
30:46You know, his yards per catch last year were the highest of his career.
30:51I think if I remember correctly, it's actually gotten better each season.
30:54And I remember doing out the math. Like when I was putting this show sheet together and I was like, if you
31:02take his, his rookie year, I almost said freshman, his rookie year, his receptions times it by his yards per catch of last year.
31:09You're almost an 1100 yard receiver. So what, what does Dalton Kincaid need to do this year outside of staying healthy to continue kind of that ascension?
31:18Does, I hate to say it, does Dawson Knox stay a slight thorn in his side?
31:23Cause clearly Dawson Knox has a role in this offense.
31:26You know, we, we see him utilized regularly. And I think sometimes you think it's Kincaid and then it's Dawson Knox in the end zone.
31:34And obviously a big presence. We get it. How does this tight end room shape out?
31:39What does Kincaid need to do to take that next step?
31:43So let's go back to the start of the off season and with Kincaid and, you know, the question about will he or won't he have knee surgery?
31:52It's the same knee. That's been an issue for like two or three seasons.
31:56Now he, he did, he got second opinions, third opinions.
32:00The ultimate decision was not to have surgery and to have to just continue strengthening the knee.
32:05So I think they've got a lot of eye rolls like, you know, media fans, like, are you serious?
32:11Like, this is going to be another year of just like pitch count, like snap count, like watching, watching how much he plays.
32:19But then he got to the off season program started and they started putting out some pictures.
32:24They do like all these individual games, like weightlifting and tug of war.
32:28And they had Kincaid as the anchor on the winning tug of war team.
32:33And they had some pictures out and his like, his thighs look bigger, his hamstrings, his, his cat, everything looks bigger.
32:40And it looks like he's been really putting the work in, in the gym this off season.
32:45So that to me is like, that's where you start.
32:48Cause like from a playing perspective, when he's on the field, he's as good as anybody in the league.
32:54So it's, they know that he, when he's healthy, that's going to be something that potentially takes this offense to another level as well.
33:02And maybe we're just spending all this time talking about DJ more and it ends up being Kincaid who ends up being the target, the receiving leader.
33:11Like he ends up being like that. They drafted him to be Travis Kelsey or like that kind of role.
33:17And he hasn't been able to get on the field.
33:20And so I think that to me this year, if he can finally get over that hump and they can figure out
33:27a way to minimize, you know, whether it be holding him back in practice, like that's a guy like sometimes you just
33:35got to know somebody's body and know that they're a gamer and say like, we're going to limit how much we're putting
33:42on that knee in practice because we want to make sure we're maximizing you on Sunday.
33:47And so that to me is the big thing.
33:50Knox is, he is just the ever present security blanket.
33:53So when you see him like stealing touchdowns from Kincaid, that's just part of the offense, but also usually when Kincaid's banged up and not available.
34:01The other thing too, is Jackson Hawes. I was talking to Brady this off season and he said it, I think a
34:08couple of times in press conferences, they really lucked out getting Hawes in the fifth round last year in the draft.
34:15They said, if he would have been knowing how the league kind of went to three tight ends this last year, in
34:22a lot of ways, he might've been a second round pick in the 2020 or six NFL draft.
34:28And he's somebody that he's the new modern version of Dawson Knox great in the run game, probably even better than Knox
34:35in the run game, but showcases ability to catch the football last year.
34:39So they're going to run a lot of 13.
34:42That's still going to be a big part of their offense.
34:46I think Hawes is going to be somebody that, Hey, maybe he, he even ends up being the one that steals touchdowns from Kincaid at this point.
34:54It's all about health for Kincaid. If he stays healthy, I put up monster, monster numbers.
34:59Great insight on the tight end room. Hayes is a great addition.
35:03I'm glad you talked about him. I think, you know, sometimes we get fixated on Kincaid there and then the knock scenario.
35:10And we forget about that talent on the back end there that could come to the forefront.
35:16It sounds like, all right, so let's wrap it up here and just something that our listeners need to know about this bill's offense completely sandbox.
35:24You can take it any way you want to be positive, negative, just something that might not immediately jump out that you want to talk about.
35:32You know, one of the things that was understated, I think last year about this team was how many sacks Josh Allen
35:40took, which was a huge flip from the year before.
35:43Like, if you remember, he set his career best with only being sacked 14 times.
35:48I mean, that offensive line in 2024 did not let anybody touch him.
35:52And I thought it was a little bit of a step back in 25 for Osiris Torrance, their right guard.
35:58I was pretty critical of Deion Dawkins this off season, just from the perspective of he takes a ton of penalties at
36:05times when they leave him on an island a lot, to be fair, because he's one of the best tackles in football.
36:12He gave up sacks last year at times, and you're going to give up sacks, but it was just the number of
36:19times Josh Allen got hit last year. And, you know, he's, this is his age 30 year in Josh Allen.
36:26He's been this ultimate iron man, hasn't missed a start since his rookie year, but those bumps and bruises tend to add up.
36:33And that's one thing I'll be watching closely this year is like, they go out, they re-sign Connor McGovern for big money.
36:40They wanted to keep that center spot solidified with him and his relationship with Allen.
36:45Left guard, they left David Edwards go to New Orleans.
36:48He was one of their best offensive linemen over the last couple of years.
36:53And now it's a great question. They're going to probably give the job to Alec Anderson.
36:58They're a long time jumbo tight end. He's been kind of can play all five positions, a utility guy.
37:04This is his opportunity to really take it. They went out and signed Austin Corbett, a veteran from the Panthers.
37:10They'll compete as well. But on this offensive line with Cromer now out, and I know Myers from the Cromer school and everybody else is still here.
37:19Rob Boris, the tight ends coach who was very close with Cromer and helped really visualize the plan for the run game.
37:26And then obviously Brady is still here. I just wonder if that offensive line, which has been such a strong point for
37:33the bills, Deion Dawkins is getting a little older.
37:36Spencer Brown's been banged up this off season. That's something I'm watching really closely.
37:41If this offense struggles at all at any point in any way, how much is the offensive line contributing to that?
37:47Interesting. If we do see an offensive line struggle, what, what do you expect it to be in terms of just pressure?
37:54Like, and I guess more importantly, how does that, how does that impact the plan scheme?
38:00If this offensive line doesn't hold up? I think my biggest worry would be quarterback pressure.
38:05They're going to be good in the run game.
38:08They have so many athletic offensive linemen that they get out in space.
38:12A lot of those concepts are going to be rinse and repeat.
38:16And, you know, we, we remember the Pittsburgh Steelers game last year where they ran duo over and over and over again
38:23to the point where after the game, some of the Steelers players were like, man, that was embarrassing.
38:29They just kept running the same exact spamming the play over and over again.
38:33And when you have the talent up front and the talent in the backfield, you can do things like that.
38:39And you almost overwhelm some teams in that way.
38:42So I think in the run game, they're still going to be very, very competitive.
38:47I just worry like, is Osiris Torrance going to bounce back?
38:51I mean, his, his pressure numbers allowed in his, um, what is it?
38:55The second season were phenomenal. Like he was one of the top guards in football.
39:00Like, uh, I think he went his first two seasons, never allowed a sack.
39:04So if he returns to that form, man, you're now you're cooking.
39:08If Spencer Brown could stay healthy, that right side, when those two guys have been playing at a high level, I would
39:15put that up against any right side in football, right?
39:18Like in, you know, probably just under a tier with the Philadelphia Eagles during their Superbowl run.
39:24And, um, on the left side, I still think Deion Dawkins, he's heard some of the noise.
39:29I think he's probably going to come back. The biggest question I have is though, like left guard, I think Alec Anderson,
39:36when he played last year was lights out. They had him play a tackle for Spencer Brown and he had one of
39:43the best games any offensive lineman had for the bills all last season, but you got to protect Josh Allen.
39:50That's key. And it's a challenge at times because he's so willing to play out of structure that it puts your offensive
39:57alignment into, you know, uh, you got to punch the card for overtime, right?
40:01Like you gotta get, you know, you, you worked your 40 hours and now you're, man, you're some of those places like,
40:08man, I'm pushing 80 hours now, man. Like, let's go.
40:12We gotta, we gotta make some things happen. But you know, it's part of playing with Josh Allen and it's, that could
40:19affect some of the passing game numbers. If we're talking about similar, um, hits, sacks, pressures, all those kinds of things.
40:26Great insight. As always, Matt, let's wrap it up with you kind of just giving an overview of who you are, what
40:33you are, where people can find your work, what you're working on, all that good stuff.
40:38Um, yeah. Thank you so much for having me.
40:41Um, you can find all of my work over at Syracuse.com.
40:44Follow me on Twitter at Matt Perino. Um, and then, uh, the shout podcast is the best place, uh, to keep it locked into everything Buffalo bills.
40:53We do, um, if you're, if you're fantasy football, um, not, and you really want to get the nitty gritty on the
41:00bills, our podcast, every single day of training camp practice, we have a post practice report where we're giving you insight.
41:07Uh, we have a text insider line, uh, that we send all of our insiders, all that, that info, but it all
41:14ends up coming out on the podcast as well.
41:17So a great resource for people that, you know, especially that time of year, when you want to learn about this team,
41:24get all your Skylar bell juice on shout in July and August.
41:28Awesome. I'm Matt Olson. He's Matt Perino. Thank you all for joining.
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