Day two of OTA workouts took place at One Bills Drive on Tuesday. Some players have impressed early. We cover that and more below.
Defense very variedBuffalo's defense hasn't wasted much time in getting varied in their looks against their offensive unit. On Tuesday they threw an awful lot of different pre-snap alignments at Tyrod Taylor and the offense. However, Taylor wasn't discouraged knowing that in time his side of the ball will find a good rhythm.
"It's good to have the guys out there competing against the defense," said Taylor. "The defense is giving us a bunch of different looks, but the main thing is that we are going out there and competing. Guys are making plays on the ball. It's good to have everybody out there."
Rex: You'll be happy we drafted himIn the wake of GM Doug Whaley's full disclosure on the decision to have undergo shoulder surgery last week, head coach Rex Ryan was asked about not having his top draft choice for the balance of the offseason.
"We knew this was a possibility," said Ryan of Lawson's shoulder surgery. "We got to a point where we had to ask, 'What's best for the team and what's best for him?' We decided the best thing was to get him to 100 percent. And I'm telling you every single Bills fan will be happy that we drafted him."
Super subWith Shaq Lawson not expected to be cleared prior to the start of the regular season, the general consensus is that veteran Manny Lawson will fill the void. While Ryan didn't deny that, he also said even if the rookie pass rusher was healthy and able to participate now that Manny Lawson's role would still be very significant in Buffalo's defense.
"Manny was always going to have a big role for us, albeit as a super sub like a sixth man in basketball if you will," said Ryan. "He can back up all four spots (at linebacker). You can put him anywhere. He's such a smart player, but today we absolutely put him in there with the first group at that outside linebacker spot."
RELATED: Bills OTA primer
Impressing earlyThere are a host of new faces on Buffalo's roster this offseason and both veteran and rookie additions have impressed in the early going. Chief among them is rookie sixth-round pick Kevon Seymour. In the absence of Stephon Gilmore, the defensive coaches gave Seymour some premium reps in practice Tuesday and Buffalo's head coach had some high praise for the USC product.
"He's already elevated himself kind of like we saw immediately with Ronald Darby," said Ryan. "We knew Darby had a chance to really be special. I'm not going to put him in that class yet, but we're close. So we bumped him up to the first team today and he's done a great job. A size, speed guy. Our scouts did a great job of seeing him and then Tim McDonald and Dennis Thurman saw him at his pro day and they were raving about him as well. It was a collaborative effort with our scouts. They found this guy and did a great job. This kid looks like the real deal. We'll see. We threw him out there with the ones and he certainly looks the part right now."
As we covered on Buffalobills.com, the hope was that Seymour would be a much more consistent player as a pro after it was discovered his vision was moderately impaired. Early signs are pretty encouraging.
Other players who made good early impressions were safety Robert Blanton, receiver Jarrett Boykin and cornerback Corey White.
Hughes back to 100 percentIt happened all the way back in Week 2 last season against New England. Bills OLB Jerry Hughes suffered a chipped bone in his wrist that negatively impacted his effectiveness
"I'm pretty much good to go," said Hughes. "I got (my wrist) taken care of in the offseason and I'm pretty much 100 percent now."
For a pass rusher, whose wrists undergo a ton of torque knowing they've got to use their hands to keep offensive linemen off of them, stack and shed, etcetera, Hughes' injury compromised his effectiveness on the field in 2015.
"Big time," said Hughes. "It was a chipped bone in my left wrist. Anytime you have something like that it slows you down. I just tried to really fight through it and play with my guys. I always want to be out there with my guys so I just took it week by week always getting the proper treatments that I needed and just played football really. I'm just happy to be 100 percent now."
Watkins and host of others sidelinedSammy Watkins is one of the more notable players on the roster who wasn't participating in spring practices. He's not expected to return any time prior to training camp. Other sidelined players included Charles Clay, Marcus Easley, Stephon Gilmore, Shaq Lawson, Greg Salas and Kyle Williams.
Head coach Rex Ryan did not specify why Clay was still not cleared to participate in practice, but did say it was "minor" in nature. Most of the other players are coming off offseason procedures.
Not in attendance were Marcell Dareus, Gilmore, Marquise Goodwin, Seantrel Henderson and Karlos Williams, who just had a son. Buffalo's OTA practices are voluntary.
