Grading the Bills’ rookie class midway through the 2024 NFL season

The Buffalo Bills viewed the 2024 season as a transition period internally; He saw it as an opportunity for the team to part ways with several key players on the roster and reset the competitive window by giving younger players opportunities to develop in key roles. This idea emerged in the first weeks of the 2024 season; In addition to second- and third-year players seeing significant moments on both offense and defense, several members of the team’s 2024 NFL Draft class have also been thrust into meaningful early roles.

With Buffalo going 6-2 for nearly half the season, now is a good time to look at the team’s 2024 standings and evaluate its members over eight games. With that said, here’s how the Bills’ rookies have fared in the first part of the campaign.

Disclaimer: In the interest of fairness, players who have not recorded any snaps will not be graded. This means that Edefuan Ulofoshio, Daequan Hardy and Travis Clayton will not be on this list.

Keon Coleman has been everything advertised thus far; He was especially dazzling in the last two games, catching nine passes for 195 yards and one score. While not as statistically impressive as the Week 7 game, Buffalo’s play against the Seattle Seahawks in Week 8 was perhaps his best yet as a pro; He consistently showcased the physical attributes, contested catch ability and red zone expertise that made him attractive. To bills before the draft. His First quarter touchdown against former Pro Bowl cornerback Riq Woolen perhaps it epitomizes this idea; Buffalo has long lacked a player who can step up and win downfield battles through the air, and Coleman’s ability to do so will greatly expand what the Bills offense can do not only for the remainder of the 2024 season, but for years to come. His not-so-poor but rather lackluster performance in the first few weeks of the season prevents this from being an A+, but if he can improve on his last two performances going forward, he’ll be a scoring option.

Grade: A

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Cole Bishop is a player Buffalo brass sees as a long-term piece and starter of the future; However, his play as a rookie was not perfect. A shoulder injury in training camp and a resulting lack of preseason reps resulted in him being deprived of critical playing time at a key stage of his development, and so Taylor Rapp expectedly struggled to break into the starting lineup while suffering a concussion in Week 4. He looked like a player who made his first career start in Week 5 against the Houston Texans; A miscommunication with cornerback Rasul Douglas in the first quarter resulted in a 67-yard Nico Collins field goal. He started to become more comfortable as the game progressed but has received very few reps since Rapp’s return to the lineup. It’s too early to hit the panic button on Bishop; The sample size is very small and shows some promise in the Week 2 crossover against the Miami Dolphins. However, at this point it’s hard to reward the rookie with anything more than middling grades despite his upside.

Grade: C

Third-round pick DeWayne Carter, like Bishop, showed some early growth issues in his first iterations, but steadily improved as the season progressed. Head coach Sean McDermott stated that the rookie is currently on the line:importantAs the season accelerated, Carter finished 4-7. This showed as he played 46% to 54% of the team’s defensive snaps week in and week out. He dazzled with his many impressive plays; for example, his goal-line stop against Baltimore Ravens running back Derrick Henry in Week 4 and his fourth-down interception against the Tennessee Titans in Week 7. He recorded five quarterback pressures and seven running stops, per PFF. before going down with a Week 7 wrist injury that required surgery and landed him on injured reserve.. He will look to build on his strong early foundations in his eventual return, and the Bills will want to see his flashes come together more consistently; However, Carter appears to have the talent to be a long-term NFL defensive tackle.

Grade: B+

Buffalo drafted Kentucky running back Ray Davis on day three with the hopes that he could serve as an immediate complement to Pro Bowler James Cook, and that’s exactly what the 24-year-old has been so far. He currently ranks third among rookies in rushing with 242 yards, and he also caught eight of nine targets for 79 yards (his most impressive catch was a 42-yard reception in Week 6). He won the hearts of fans with his physical style of play and endearing story, with many in the Bills Mafia demanding that the rookie increase his playing time and see the team’s backfield develop into a true two-headed monster. It remains to be seen whether Davis will see an increase in snaps as he closes out the year, but through eight games, a few things are clear: He’s got the goods and looks like he’ll be able to stay in the league for at least a complementary season. role for a while.

Grade: A+

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Fifth-round pick Sedrick Van Pran-Granger technically He qualified for the list because he saw a handful of snaps in garbage time, but it doesn’t seem fair to give him a grade since he only played 27 offensive snaps through four games. He didn’t allow pressure on three rushes per PFF, but earned just adequate grades as a run blocker; however, the sample size was too limited to be accurately evaluated. The multiple-time College Football National Champion could continue to be a long-term piece of Buffalo’s offensive line, and we’re taking the easy way out by giving Van Pran-Granger a shortstop.

Class: Inc.

Javon Solomon fell to the fifth round in the 2024 NFL Draft despite leading the nation in scoring with 16 last season. In the limited opportunities this season, he has proven this idea correct; He recorded five interceptions, four quarterback hits, two sacks and a forced fumble on just 39 defensive snaps. He sits behind Greg Rousseau, AJ Epenesa, Dawuane Smoot and the returning Von Miller on the depth chart, but makes a noticeable impact when given the opportunity. He may never develop into a full-fledged lineman, but given his early impact in a limited role, it’s hard not to be encouraged by his upside.

Grade: A-

Tylan Grable’s professional career is off to a promising start with strong preseason performances; It was a development that allowed him to usurp Ryan Van Demark on the depth chart as the team’s first-choice depth tackle. He played only seven offensive snaps before suffering an abdominal injury in Week 3, which landed him on injured reserve. He’s an athletic player who performed enough in the offseason to position himself as an interesting developmental piece, but his regular season sample size is still too small to rank highly.

Class: Inc.

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