On Tuesday, the Buffalo Bills opened up the second week of Organized Team Activities to keep their offseason workouts going before the long break in late June and July. On Wednesday — Day 5 of Bills OTAs — the media will get to see their second practice this offseason, and the storylines will only progress from what we saw this time last week.
With what we saw last week, here’s what I’ll have my eyes on during the morning practice session:
1) How much can Seantrel Henderson do?
- On Memorial Day, Tyler Dunne of The Buffalo News came out with a rather disturbing report that detailed one of the procedures that former starting right tackle Seantrel Henderson went through in the offseason. According to the report, Henderson had surgery to re-attach his intestines which was cringe-worthy enough even just to read, and even more so to type out. Henderson’s agent told Dunne that his client has been cleared to practice and made his way to One Bills Drive. So, with the right tackle position still up for grabs, how much might we expect Henderson to do? If he can manage to sneak in some reps as early as Wednesday, perhaps the former seventh-round pick will have to be thought of as a serious contender for the right tackle job. My guess? The Bills will probably take it slow with Henderson and he’ll work along the sidelines with training staff. We have to see what kind of playing shape he's in, too.
2) Still Mills getting all the reps with the 1s?
- Speaking of that right tackle job, when we last left the Bills, Jordan Mills was getting all the reps with the first-team offense and Cyrus Kouandjio was firmly behind in that respect. Kouandjio still may have something to say about the competition yet, but initially it was all Mills. If Kouandjio can start to work with the first unit a little bit, it will signal that the team is trying to incorporate him more into the equation. With how high of a pick they used on him, the Bills will be rooting for Kouandjio to take the next step and actually win the job. However, if he doesn’t prove it, he won’t be given anything this summer.
3) Wide receiver order of operations
- Last week, without Sammy Watkins available to practice, the two receivers getting the most time with starter Robert Woods were veterans Jarrett Boykin and Greg Little. Granted, the Bills didn’t have Greg Salas, Marcus Easley, Marquise Goodwin, or Kolby Listenbee available to practice with them either during the session, but it was still an early look. As the Bills continue their workouts, presumably, a few of those players that did not participate may become available to them, and we’ll see how the depth of the unit plays out in that respect. Or, if they’re all still out, and someone like Leonard Hankerson, Dez Lewis, etc., rises up to get the most time with the first unit, that will also be a notable development.
4) Defensive line rotation
- Last week the Bills were without Kyle Williams due to the defensive lineman needing to further rehabilitate his knee, but they were also without Marcell Dareus at the workouts. Without those two starters, Corbin Bryant lined up at nose tackle with rookie Adolphus Washington and Jerel Worthy lined up at end on each side of Bryant, and that was the presumed first-team defense. If Dareus returns to the voluntary workouts this week, it will likely shift Worthy back a bit… but the interesting thing will be to see where the top defensive lineman on the roster lines up -- whether it’s at nose tackle initially, or at defensive end. We’ll get a glimpse as to the team’s first plans for the position.
5) Inside or outside LB for Lattimore?
- The Bills kicked off the work week with a brand new signing on Tuesday, to add free agent linebacker Jamari Lattimore to the 90-man roster. The immediate question is, which position will the Bills use him at in their defense? Lattimore has plenty of experience in the 3-4 scheme through his five years in the NFL, and was mostly an inside linebacker during his previous stops. In college, though, Lattimore was an edge rusher, but is a bit undersized for the role in the professional ranks. Perhaps he’ll join in with Lorenzo Alexander, Randell Johnson, and Eric Striker as players that they may be cross-training between the two positions. We’ll see on Wednesday.
