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Bills Today

Bills Today | Three Bills position battles to watch according to NFL.com

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1. Which Bills position groups made this list of AFC training camp battles to watch?

As we await the commencement of training camp practices, there are a number of position battles that will unfold at Bills camp. NFL.com took a look at the entire AFC landscape for some of the most compelling positional battles. Buffalo made the list three times, with the most interesting being their running back position.

Here was NFL.com’s take on why the Bills running back position will be so hotly contested.

Devin Singletary has already proven himself, ranking among the 10 most elusive backs last season (minimum 100 carries), according to PFF. Moss is a similarly slashing runner who, like Singletary, was a third-round pick brought in to share to load and possibly steal goal-line work. Moss will have to prove himself quickly because Singletary is too legit to sit for long.

The other Bills position battles that made the list were cornerback (Levi Wallace vs. Josh Norman) and defensive end (Trent Murphy vs. Mario Addison vs. AJ Epenesa).

2. NFL analysts ranks Stefon Diggs as a top 10 receiver

He was No. 54 on the NFL's Top 100 Players this week, but where might Stefon Diggs rank just among wide receivers. Adam Schein took a stab at it in his latest column for NFL.com.

Schein put together a Top 9 receivers list and had Diggs checking in at number 8. Here was his assessment of Buffalo's new top wideout.

This is a stud WR1 who'll be even better now that he's teamed up with the strong-armed Josh Allen (who's about to enjoy a true breakout season in 2020).

I love Diggs' knack for making big plays in big spots. He's a spectacular route-runner and a prolific deep threat. Next Gen Stats defines "deep targets" as passes of 20-plus air yards. In this area last season, Diggs led the NFL in deep receptions (15), catch rate (57.7%) and yards per target (24.0), while tying for first with five deep touchdowns.

The receivers ranked ahead of Diggs were Michael Thomas, DeAndre Hopkins, Julio Jones, Mike Evans, Tyreek Hill, Keenan Allen and Davante Adams.

3. Where did PFF rank Buffalo's secondary?

In advance of the 2020 season, Pro Football Focus has ranked positions and position groupings as a whole for the 32 NFL clubs. Most recently they did a ranking of NFL secondaries and the Bills, not surprisingly were near the top.

Buffalo ranked as the seventh-best secondary in the NFL resting largely on the accomplishments of Micah Hyde, Jordan Poyer, Levi Wallace and Tre'Davious White. Here is an excerpt of their breakdown of the Bills defensive backfield.

The Bills have done a fantastic job covering on the back end over recent years, and they've had success with several different cornerbacks in their zone-heavy scheme.

Tre' Davious White has earned a coverage grade of 85.6 since 2017 — 13th-best in the NFL — to go with the second-lowest passer rating allowed, at 60.9. White has tracked opposing No. 1 receivers at points in his career, allowing the Bills to play more man coverage and add flexibility to their scheme.

When head coach Sean McDermott took over in 2017, he overhauled the safety position with Micah Hyde and Jordan Poyer taking over as starters, and they've been one of the best duos in the league ever since. Hyde had the 12th-best grade in the league during the 2019 regular season at 79.5, marking his third straight season in the top 12. Poyer ranked 22nd at 74.2 while tying for eighth in the league with 30 defensive stops.

The Bills have aligned in a two-deep-safety look at one of the highest percentages in the league, and both Hyde and Poyer have earned 90.0-plus grades when lined up at free safety over the last three years. Their ability to work as interchangeable parts in Buffalo's defense is one of the key reasons the Bills have had one of the best coverage units in the league.

Behind-the-scenes pictures of Bills quarterbacks and select veterans from their annual full uniform photo shoots.

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