Buffalo Bills training camp preview: Offensive line

The Buffalo Bills are putting the final touches on their preparations for training camp in 2020, one that’s not going to be like any other.

Due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, everyone from fans to the organization knows things aren’t going to be the same during 2020’s camp. Safety precautions between players and owners are still being discussed and worked out.

Still, the end goal for training camp is the same as usual. The Bills need to trim their roster down and find the best bunch of guys to send into battle together on game day.

Bills Wire will go group-by-group, breaking down each position ahead of camp’s *expected* start on July 28. This round is the offensive line:

Players (age)

• Mitch Morse (28: 6th season)
• Spencer Long (29: 7th season)
• Ike Boettger (25: 3rd season)
• Jon Feliciano (28: 6th season)
• Marquel Harrell (23: Rookie)
• Quinton Spain (28: 6th season)
• Ryan Bates (23: 2nd season)
• Evan Boehm (26: 5th season)
• Garrett McGhin (24: 2nd season)
• Daryl Williams (27: 6th season)
• Trey Adams (23: Rookie)
• Victor Salako (26: 2nd season)
• Dion Dawkins (26: 4th season)
• Cody Ford (23: 2nd season)
• Ty Nsekhe: (34: 6th season)
• Brandon Walton (22: Rookie)

2019 recap

The 2019 recap for this offensive line would be a long one, but we’ll keep it short and sweet. The Bills turned over… just about everything along their line a year ago. In 2018, the group was very bad. From that season, the only starter that survived was left tackle Dion Dawkins. Buffalo general manager Brandon Beane saw fit to add as many bodies as he could in free agency and the draft in 2019, and told them all essentially the same: Best man wins. That grouping, from left to right, ended up being: Dawkins, Quinton Spain, Mitch Morse, Jon Feliciano, and Cody Ford with a mix of Ty Nsekhe at right tackle. Overall, this unit’s play was much better than 2018, but they do not rank amongst the NFL’s best just yet, there’s room to grow.

Now here’s a rundown of storylines to follow in this position group:

Does continuity reign supreme?

Earlier this offseason, a study was released about continuity in the NFL. The Bills have the most continuity among their roster heading into next season. A big part of that is having all five (or six) guys who spent time starting on their offensive line returning. That’s right, all six of those guys mentioned in our 2019 recap are back once again. Spain was re-signed this offseason in an effort to do just that.

So is that it? Are we all said and done?

Well, the Bills should really not do that, but we’ll see if the coach staff does. There’s one big thought on both sides of the fence. Why keep the same group together? Chemistry builds over time with an offensive line, so another season of… seasoning… could be great for this group. On the flip side, why shouldn’t the starter roles just be given back over? Well, best mans, right? If there’s someone better, give that person the job. You’d still likely have a big chunk of chemistry growing on a line with maybe just one new face.

We’ll see which route the Bills are going.