Buffalo Bills: Seven down and one more to go

With the Buffalo Bills officially agreeing terms with third round selection Harrison Philips, first-rounder Josh Allen is the only draft pick left unsigned.

Wednesday was a significant day for the Buffalo Bills. As reported by Nick Veronica of The Buffalo News, they signed third round draft pick, Harrison Phillips.

There is a lot of hope surrounding Phillips, after his senior season in 2017 with Stanford. He earned All-Pac 12 First Team honors after leading the team in tackles, and has a good chance of being the main backup at defensive tackle for the Bills.

Of more significance, agreeing a contract with Phillips means there is just one pick from this year’s draft class to sign for the Bills. And it just so happens to be Josh Allen.

There is no concern in respect of getting Allen signed. It is more a case of negotiating a deal as soon as possible, so the team and player can concentrate on what’s happening on the field.

The Bills have been making a point of bringing the 22-year-old along slowly. The last thing they want to do, is put any undue pressure on him at this early stage.

More from Buffalo Bills

As such, Allen spent the first week of OTAs exclusively working with the Bills’ third-team offense. Meanwhile, AJ McCarron and Nathan Peterman took it in turns to run drills with the first-team.

For what it’s worth, Allen looked like anything but a third-stringer during last Thursday afternoon, which was the first OTA session open to the media. He appeared extremely confident as he mixed up his passes, backing up the scouting reports out of college that he can make any throw in the book.

Thursday will represent the final day of Week 2 of OTAs, and will again be open to the media. It will be interesting to see if the Bills’ potential franchise quarterback will be given any reps with the first team.

If he does, it will provide more insight into how Allen is progressing. Although he already appears to be making quite the impression in Western New York.

Consider the comments made by former NFL quarterback, Chris Simms, on one of his recent podcasts. As reported by Ryan Talbot of Newyorkupstate.com, Simms said:

"“I had a member of the media up there first tell me and then I talked to somebody involved in their organization. Allen is blowing people away. I mean blowing people away. It sounds like a Carson Wentz thing. I think everybody is blown away by the mental approach, but practice is eye opening like we said it would be.”"

Now of course, whether Allen can have a similar level of impact as Wentz on the field remains to be seen. Regardless, as cautious as the Bills are being with their young QB right now, you imagine he will be given every chance in camp, to lock down the starting job on opening day.

Another person with high hopes for the Firebaugh, California native, is teammate Tre’Davious White. The cornerback discussed Allen with Andrew Siciliano on the NFL Network, following Tuesday’s OTA session:

"“Josh Allen’s been doing a great job of throwing that ball, man. When I say he has a great arm, he’s been throwing it around, man. Hey, be on the lookout for Josh Allen. He’s going to be one of the best young quarterbacks in this league for a long time.”"

It’s all pointing in the right direction for Allen at the moment. Now it’s time for the Bills to get him signed, so everyone can focus on what will hopefully be a long and successful future for everyone concerned.

Next: Where does the offensive line go from here?

Allen aside, which Buffalo Bills’ draft pick (or picks) in particular are you looking forward to seeing in action? As for Allen himself, do you predict he will be in the starting lineup come Week 1 of the 2018 campaign? Share your thoughts in the comments section below.

Home/Buffalo Bills

Buffalo Bills: Seven down and one to go

By Paul Taylor | May 31, 2018

With the Buffalo Bills officially agreeing terms with third round selection Harrison Philips, first-rounder Josh Allen is the only draft pick left unsigned.