Here's the Bills news of note for July 25th.
**1. PFF: Bills had most explosive rushing attack in 2016
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The Buffalo Bills have made themselves known as being one of the best rushing groups in the entire league. For the past two seasons, they have led the NFL in rushing. Recently Pro Football Focus tweeted an info graph in which gives further proof to their dominance.
According to PFF, last year the Bills rushing group had the most breakaway plays (15 yards) with 33. The closest to them was the Atlanta Falcons with 26. The stat is quite impressive and is led by LeSean McCoy.
Last year, McCoy finished sixth in rushing yards with 1,267 and paired that with 13 touchdowns on the ground. Also, last season McCoy had 11 rushes of over 20 yards which was the second most in his eight-year career. While the back heads into his ninth NFL season, he has shown no signs of slowing down.
2. McCoy, Thurman ranked among best playmakers of all-time
Recently, Bleacher Report's Mike Tanier, decided to rank the best playmakers in the NFL of all-time. Tanier decides to breakdown his list based on three components: versatility, elusiveness and consistency.
Since the NFL began in 1960, the world has seen some of the best athletes compete in the national spotlight. On the list comes in two Buffalo Bills players – One former and one current.
At 14 comes Bills current running back, LeSean McCoy. The running back has stood out since entering the league in 2009 and has shined with multiple teams. While McCoy is still playing, he may have a chance to move even higher with some more good seasons.
The highest ranked Buffalo Bill on the list comes in at number 11 in Thurman Thomas. With his hall of fame career, it surely didn't go unnoticed. Here is what Tanier had to say about Thomas:
Thurman Thomas was the first truly great hurry-up running back. He led the NFL in scrimmage yards for four consecutive seasons, from 1989 through 1992. Working within the K-Gun offense, which would suddenly shift into an up-tempo mode few opponents were prepared for, Thomas averaged over 4.8 yards per rush and 10.0 yards per reception for three straight years, propelling the Bills to the Super Bowl each year.*
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3. Bills biggest camp sleeper
Bleacher Report's, Brent Sobleski, recently wrote about each team's biggest training camp sleeper before the sessions get underway. While Bills head coach, Sean McDermott, has said that every position will be based on competition there are still guys that may take advantage and leave a strong impression.
Sobleski decided for the Bills that it would be cornerback, Leonard Johnson, who figures to compete for the nickel cornerback slot. Here is what he had to say about him:
*The Bills signed cornerback Leonard Johnson to a one-year deal after he spent last season with the Carolina Panthers under defensive coordinator Sean McDermott. McDermott is now the head coach of the Bills, and he liked what he saw of Johnson during OTAs and minicamp. *
"The thing that I love about Leonard is how tough he is," the coach said, per the Buffalo News' Jay Skurski. "He's like a little [Mike] Tyson in terms of just the way he approaches the game. He gives us an edge on defense, which is important."
*With Ronald Darby and Tre'Davious White set to work outside the hashes as Buffalo's starting cornerbacks, Johnson can carve out a role as the team's nickel corner. He lined up over the slot with the first-team defense during the spring, per Skurski, which suggests the staff expects him to fill that role this fall.
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