Up for Grabs: Five Position Battles in Buffalo

A Pro Bowler left the offensive line. An All Pro joined the receiving corps. A former thousand-yard rusher was added to the roster while another faces an NFL suspension.

The team drafted a crew of versatile players that could find themselves playing new positions at the pro level.

A busy offseason for the Buffalo Bills should get even busier when the players take the field.

Departures of key players leave vacuums that plenty of candidates will be scrambling to fill.

The addition of a difference maker creates a domino effect—starters suddenly become reserves, and reserves face a life-or-death camp battle to hold onto a roster spot.

As full-squad OTAs begin and training camp looms on the horizon, here are some position battles to keep an eye on.

UP FIRST: Fill-in running back

Back-up/Fill-in Running Back

The competitors: Incumbent Fred Jackson (pictured) and free agent acquisition Dominic Rhodes.

At stake: Starting job (temporarily), depth chart position, and perhaps a roster spot.

Marshawn Lynch has been suspended for the first three games of the season. Jackson, who started three games when Lynch was injured last year, will look to step in again.

Rhodes, who carried the clipboard for Edgerrin James and Joesph Addai in Indianapolis, is looking for a chance to be the man.

Ironically, he left for a shot at a starting job in Oakland two years ago only to get hit with a suspension of his own.

The early favorite: Jackson. The team made that clear by inking him to a four-year, $7.5 million deal.

Projection: Jackson will get the nod and Rhodes might get his release. Depending on the camp performance of second-year Xavier Omon, it’s possible that Rhodes might be a luxury the team can’t afford as a third-stringer.

NEXT: Wide receiver playing time

Wide Receiver Playing Time

The competitors: Josh Reed, Roscoe Parrish (pictured), James Hardy, and Steve Johnson

At stake: Depth chart position for some and roster spot for others.

The signing of Terrell Owens moves everyone down one spot on the depth chart. Lee Evans immediately becomes one of the best No. 2 receivers around (with apologies to Wes Welker).

Last year’s two, Josh Reed, becomes a No. 3, leaving the revolving door that played the slot last year fighting for a role.

It’s put up or shut-up for Roscoe Parrish.

He’s a big-play punt returner, but as Terrence McGee, Nate Clements, and Eric Moulds have shown in the past, value as a return man pales in comparison to the contributions of an every-down player.

If he can’t make it as a receiver, he may not make it past final cuts.

Hardy was drafted 183 spots ahead of Johnson last year, but their numbers were nearly identical in their rookie seasons. Both should make the team.

At worst, they’ll fight each other for scraps of playing time. At best, they’ll push Reed.

The early favorite: From three to six: Reed, Parrish, Hardy, and Johnson. Incumbents get the benefit of the doubt, and the 2008 first-day draft pick starts with a lead over the seventh rounder.

Projection: Hardy‘s height—he‘s a 6‘5“ former Indiana Hoosier basketball player—makes him most likely to move up and could be the final nail in the 5‘9“ Parrish‘s coffin.

Especially if the team holds onto both expensive running backs in Lynch’s absence, they may not want to pay Parrish for a relatively minor contribution.

NEXT: Left guard

Left Guard

The competitors: Rookie Andy Levitre (pictured), veteran Kirk Chambers, second-year Demetrius Bell, and free-agent pickup Seth McKinney

At stake: Starting spot.

Last year’s starter, Derrick Dockery, was the highest-paid guard in NFL history. His release began a game of musical chairs on the line.

The pre-draft trade of Pro Bowl left tackle Jason Peters started with the music playing again and created perhaps the most wide-open competition on the team.

Every position across the front will have a new starter. Last year’s right tackle, Langston Walker, is penciled in as Peters’ replacement.

Filling Walker’s shoes at right tackle will be former guard Brad Butler. Free-agent pickup Geoff Hantgartner should have center under control

Right guard seems to be first-round draft pick Eric Wood’s spot to lose. That leaves every other lineman fighting for one spot.

It’s tough to envision the team starting the season with rookies on both sides of center, which hurts Levitre’s chances.

Chambers is better suited at tackle and so is Bell, although his struggles in his brief playing opportunities last year make “best suited” a bit of an overstatement.

McKinney is a center by trade.

When it comes to the offensive line, the phrase “wide open” isn’t usually a positive.

The early favorite: Chambers is the longest tenured Bill in the running for the spot. He should be first choice.

Projection: Assuming the other four starters stay put, McKinney might get the bulk of the playing time, at least until Levitre is ready.

Just as likely is that McKinney takes over in the middle, bumping Hantgartner one spot to the left, or Chambers could take over at right tackle, sending Butler back to guard.

NEXT: Weak-side linebacker

Weak-Side Linebacker

The competitors: Incumbent Keith Ellison (pictured), draft pick Nic Harris, free agent pickup Pat Thomas, injured second-year man Alvin Bowen, and a group of special teamers, someone not yet on the roster

At stake: Starting position.

Ellison is not the big-play threat that his teammates, middle linebacker Paul Posluszny and strong-side backer Kawika Mitchell are.

In 42 career games, he’s only recorded an interception, sack, or ten-tackle day in five of them.

Nic Harris was drafted as a safety, but the Bills are giving him a look at linebacker.

Veteran pick-up Pat Thomas, most recently a middle linebacker, isn’t any better. In 31 games, he’s only had two big-play days.

Alvin Bowen blew out his knee in his rookie training camp and his next NFL snap will be his first. Most of the other players on the depth chart were signed for special teams, including Blake Costanzo, John DiGiorgio, and Buffalo native Jon Corto.

The team brought in Pisa Tinoisamoa last week. Tinoisamoa led the Rams in tackles last year, but he left town without signing.

Still, the message is clear: The eventual winner of this position battle might not be in Buffalo yet.

The early favorite: Ellison is the incumbent, and there is no compelling reason to change.

Projection: Head coach Dick Jauron said it best in his draft wrap-up press conference, “Keith, who really played well for us whenever we’ve asked him to step up and play, he’s done a terrific job, so we’re happy with that.”

NEXT: Free safety

Free Safety

The competitors: Incumbent Ko Simpson (pictured), draft pick Jairus Byrd, veterans George Wilson and John Wendling.

At stake: Starting position and likely at least one roster spot.

Simpson has not developed the way the team had hoped. After essentially losing all of 2007 to injury, he struggled to regain the form that earned him the starting job in the first place.

He was pulled from the starting lineup at the end of last season.

Wilson, a converted wide receiver, got three starts and extensive playing time last season. Wendling, primarily a special teamer, also saw some time.

Byrd was drafted to take over the position, sooner rather than later. He played cornerback in college but coaches are confident his intelligence and work ethic will enable him to make the switch.

The early favorite: Simpson has the position now, but the clock is ticking.

Projection: “I think that he can be a productive free safety,” said Buffalo secondary coach George Catavolos immediately after the team drafted Byrd.

Defensive coordinator Perry Fewell has known him since Byrd was a high schooler.

NEXT: Wrap up of other position battles

Other Position Battles

Outside of the big five, there are other positions up for grabs.

Buffalo has a crew of cornerbacks in camp.

Even with Jairus Byrd moved to safety, the Bills still added two cornerbacks in the draft: Cary Harris and Ellis Lankster, a month after adding veteran Drayton Florence.

They will all battle holdovers Ashton Youboty and Leodis McKelvin for the starting corner spot vacated by Jabari Greer.

Assuming McKelvin gets the gig, the crew, plus Youboty will battle Reggie Corner for the nickel spot.

At tight end, draft pick Shawn Nelson (pictured) will battle a crew of unheralded returnees. They aren't no-names as much as same names, as a pair of Dereks—Fine and Schouman—will be looking for the starting spot.

Again this year, it appears that the only fullback on the roster will be a part-time player, meaning that the tight ends will likely see their share of time in the backfield.

The list of secure positions is short: Kicker, punter, and quarterback.

The defensive line. Other than that, just about every spot on the field is up for grabs.

Everything from starting positions to spots on the roster are at stake.

Camp can't start soon enough.