Bills position preview: Stoutness of middle three looks like asset for offensive line
The middle three is looking just as stout if not stouter this season. Connor McGovern moves over to center to replace Mitch Morse, and David Edwards takes over at left guard.
This is the third in a series looking at the status of each position before the Buffalo Bills report to training camp on July 23. This installment: Interior offensive line.
The Buffalo Bills got tougher in the middle three of the offensive line last season.
The addition of rookie mauler O’Cyrus Torrence at right guard and powerful Connor McGovern at left guard added more of a road-grading element to the Bills’ running game.
Combined with the athleticism of tackles Dion Dawkins and Spencer Brown, it allowed the Bills to have their best rushing season during the Josh Allen era.
James Cook finished second in the NFL in yards from scrimmage among running backs. The Bills ranked fifth in rushing attempts, seventh in rushing yards and first in the league in rushing efficiency. (Efficiency measures how often a team rushes for 40% of the yards needed for a first down on first-down runs, 60% on second down, and converts the first down on third-down runs.)
“The No. 1 thing is you want to have an efficient run game,” offensive line coach Aaron Kromer said when asked about the rushing totals. “And we were the No. 1 efficient run game in the NFL. So you consistently can move the chains. That’s what we’re trying to do consistently move the chains. If we make 10 yards great, but we have to get 4. And with the combination of Josh’s ability to throw and run and control the offense, and James Cook and this offensive line and the receivers are doing a good job blocking – that is the essence of winning consistently.”
The middle three is looking just as stout if not stouter this season. McGovern moves over to center to replace Mitch Morse, and David Edwards takes over at left guard. The 6-foot-6 Edwards is a big, long, powerful blocker.
Returnees: McGovern, Torrence, David Edwards, Alec Anderson, Kevin Jarvis.
Newcomers: Sedrick Van Pran-Granger, Will Clapp, Keaton Bills, Mike Edwards, Gunner Britton.
Departures: Morse (Jaguars), Ryan Bates (Bears).
Sedrick Van Pran-Granger, center, is an intriguing fifth-round draft pick for the Bills following a solid career at Georgia. Harry Scull Jr., Buffalo News
Top battle
Rookie Sedrick Van Pran-Granger, returnee Alec Anderson and free-agent signee Will Clapp likely are fighting for two spots as backup interior linemen.It’s possible all three could make it with 10 offensive linemen in total making the 53-man roster. But that would be less likely.
The Bills kept 10 offensive lineman for 15 of the 17 weeks of the 2023 regular season. But in the seven years of the Sean McDermott tenure, the Bills have kept nine offensive linemen to start the year five times and 10 just twice.
Van Pran-Granger, a fifth-round pick out of Georgia, is a lock to make the roster, as long as he’s healthy.
Clapp, 28, has experience at center and guard, with a little at tackle, as well. He has started 21 NFL games over six seasons. He got the chance to be a full-time starter for the first time in his career last season with the Los Angeles Chargers, taking over at center in Week 4. He’s an overachiever. Anderson beat the odds to stick on the Bills’ active roster all last season but never got in a game. He was undrafted out of UCLA, where he started at right tackle, and spent 2022 on Buffalo’s practice squad. He has seen a lot of practice time at center for the Bills and he has done enough to keep his foot in the door for two years.
What to expect
The starters are locked in. The interesting thing to watch will be the development of Van Pran-Granger. He has better credentials than your average fifth-round pick, considering he started 44 games at Georgia, including the national championship seasons of 2021 and 2022.“He started three years at Georgia,” Kromer said. “He was successful blocking in that league for three years. Other than some flaws he had that made him look stiff in his movement skills – which he’s working on – he had success. He’s just a smart guy. He knew the whole offense. He was a leader at the school in college. He’s growing in our system already. I like him.”
What if Van Pran-Granger has a strong camp and preseason? If there’s an injury to Torrence or Edwards, the Bills could be inclined to plug the rookie in at center and have McGovern slide over to guard until the injured starter comes back.
