Buffalo tries to boost offense
ORCHARD PARK — Bills general manager Brandon Beane’s response to Aaron Rodgers joining the AFC East was spending the NFL draft upgrading Buffalo’s offense.
After salary-cap constraints limited the threetime defending divisional champs to making modest signings in free agency, Beane used what little draft capital he had to give Josh Allen a new target in Utah tight end Dalton Kincaid and a hulking protector in Florida guard O’Cyrus Torrence.
The focus on offense follows a season in which the Bills’ production stagnated down the stretch; the team lacked a reliable receiving threat opposite Stefon Diggs; and Allen showed even his broad shoulders aren’t wide enough to carry a majority of the load.
Allen, entering his sixth season, acknowledged as much some two weeks earlier.
“I know it sounds crazy, but I’m getting older. It’s like I can’t continue to do this,” said Allen, who will turn 27 next month, acknowledging he needs to alter his fearless playing style.
“I’m going to have to learn to adapt and change,” added Allen, who played through a nagging injury to his throwing elbow. “I’ve always had the mindset of I’ve been a football player first and a quarterback second. And at some point that’s going to have to switch.”
Allen’s comments were less a revelation and more a reminder of the concerns Beane raised about Buffalo’s offense days after a 27-10 loss to Cincinnati in the divisional playoff round.
“I would say at the end of the season — and I don’t have the answer for you — we never put together a complete game,” Beane said.
The Bills went from averaging 430 yards of offense and allowing 11 sacks in their first seven outings to gaining an average of 371 yards and giving up 22 sacks in their last nine. Allen committed a league-leading 19 turnovers (14 interceptions, five fumbles), while finishing tied for second with 35 TDs passing.
With the 150th pick, Buffalo selected Florida receiver Justin Shorter. At 6-foot-4 and 230 pounds, Shorter had 29 catches for a career-best 577 yards receiving and scored two touchdowns last season. At No. 230, Buffalo selected Mississippi guard Nick Broeker. At No. 252, Buffalo selected Oregon State cornerback Alex Austin.