Stock up, stock down after first week of Bills camp

Stock ⬆️: Isaiah McKenzie

We all knew that McKenzie was going to have a much-increased role under the new offensive system of Ken Dorsey. Just go back to the Week 16 Patriots game from last season and you can see why he deserves a more significant role. But, what was surprising was that on the first day of camp he was getting first team reps over Jamison Crowder. McKenzie took those first team reps and ran with it, according to reports coming from camp. Crowder then proceeded to miss the next handful of practices with soreness, which gave McKenzie even more reps and the ability to take control of the first team. I’m not saying the first team slot receiver is locked up, but at this point, it looks like it is McKenzie’s job to lose.

Stock ⬆️: Defensive line

This is something that all Bills fans love to see. One of the significant factors for the Bills this year is the defensive line’s improvement, and we noticed it right away in the first week of camp. On the first day, we saw the new addition, Tim Settle, pick off Case Keenum and return it for 20 yards. Multiple times, the defensive line has frustrated Josh Allen by batting and tipping balls at the line of scrimmage. Right away, we saw how impactful Von Miller would be this year as, at some points, he was toying with his matchups. Reports also showed that you could see a notable difference in Epenesa and Basham, both of whom should be very important rotational rushers this year. Overall, the line looks much improved from the inside to the outside. Ed Oliver has been causing havoc in the middle, especially when lined up with Miller. Center Mitch Morse knows how much of a problem those two can cause together, as he’s seen it firsthand:

Stock ⬆️: Kaiir Elam

The final notable “stock up” from the beginning of training camp is the rookie first-round pick, Kaiir Elam. Right away, with Tre White still working his way back from the ACL injury, Elam flashed against Stefon Diggs and Gabe Davis. Yes, Diggs did win his fair share of reps against Elam, but that is completely expected. What was not expected was Elam’s intensity going up against Diggs. At first sight, he didn’t back down, and he was even trash talking the star receiver. Elam still has a long way to go, but it is a good sign that he can hold his own against the Bills’ top weapons and it will only get easier once White comes back.

Stock ⬇️: Jamison Crowder

It is only the first week of camp, so as a fanbase, please try not to overreact. But, the start of camp for Jamison Crowder has not been great. He started on day one behind McKenzie on the depth chart at the slot receiver and then proceeded to miss the next handful of days with lower body soreness. Again, it is only week one, and I still expect Crowder to be vital for this team, but he is already behind the eight-ball in the slot position battle. He returned for his second practice of camp on Monday, but he needs to stay on the field so we can see what he can bring to the Bills offense.

Stock ⬇️: Offensive line

When it comes to the offensive line, it is less about the performance on the field but more about the lack of actual starters participating. First, we got the news at the beginning of the week that Roger Saffold was going to be out with a rib injury from a recent car accident. It is good that he is okay from the accident, but in terms of football, him missing time will hurt the continuity of the OL because he expects to be the starting LG. This is not as serious as Saffold, but Ryan Bates missed a few days with an injury. He also hopes to be the starting RG. Then finally, Spencer Brown is still out with an injury and projects to be the starter at RT. Again, it is good that it is early, but the Bills’ current OL is facing a couple of injuries that are making it hard for them to grow as a unit.

Stock ⬇️: OJ Howard

The final “stock down” of the first week of Bills training camp is tight end OJ Howard. Howard was brought in to be the No. 2 TE behind Dawson Knox in hopes of taking some pressure off of Knox and giving Allen another big weapon. But so far, he looks a little lackluster and hasn’t popped yet. This could be because he is with a new team and is trying to learn a new system while catching passes from a new QB. That could be true, but Howard is essential to the team as it gives Allen another red-zone target. His stock is down for the first week, but he did make a big play in practice on Monday, so things could take a turn for the former first-round pick: