1. Stefon Diggs is helping the defense
Just about every NFL observer has had an opinion on how Stefon Diggs will help Buffalo's offense this season. But through the first couple of days of training camp it's readily apparent that his skill set is going to help the Bills defense improve as well.
"The competitive nature that he brings to our team I think is apparent and watching him go up against the likes of Tre' White and Levi Wallace, Josh Norman, just to name a few has been fun," said coach McDermott. "I know Josh from our time together in Carolina, and certainly I know Levi, and Tre' both and their competitive spirits as well."
Receiver is considered to be one of the most hotly contested positions in Bills camp this summer. Seeing the guy at the top of the depth chart at the position bringing it every day brings out the competitive juices in everyone lining up.
"That competition is a big part of our football team and not just at that position, but all positions," McDermott said. "That's where guys that have that dog mentality, if you will, are able to flip the switch on when they when they come on the field and flip it off when they go off. We feel that's important as well. That's a big part of building a competitive football team."
2. Ed Oliver should return from injury soon
Ed Oliver remains sidelined at training camp practices due to a sore hip. But coach McDermott doesn't expect him to be out of the action for much longer.
"He's got a little bit of a hip thing going on right now, some soreness there," McDermott said. "We think he'll have it knocked out in a couple days from now. So we're encouraged by his progress as of the last couple of days and anxious to get him back."
Coach McDermott did say any time a player misses time it's a concern particularly because of the short ramp up time this preseason.
Among the other players sidelined for today's practice, Tommy Sweeney (PUP), Jon Feliciano (chest), Pat DiMarco (neck), Robert Foster (concussion protocol) and Quinton Jefferson (foot).
Vosean Joseph is still wearing a red non-contact jersey.
3. Playing healthy the difference for Daryl Williams
This past offseason, the Bills signed a handful of players with Carolina ties. While most were on the defensive side of the ball, there was one on offense in offensive lineman Daryl Williams. After he was signed, general manager Brandon Beane spoke of Williams' value being rooted in his experience at both guard and tackle.
But for Williams, the 2019 campaign for him with the Panthers was largely a get-well season after he missed almost all of the 2018 season with a torn MCL and dislocated patella tendon.
When asked how Daryl Williams personal game looks in comparison to when he was around him on a daily basis in Carolina, coach McDermott offered the following.
"Number one, he looks healthier than he did a couple years ago, which is good to see," McDermott said. "He's played a couple different positions so he offers position flexibility. This is a young man that we feel has yet to play his best football and become the best version of himself. And so we hope that he continues to grow and blossom here in Western New York, in a Bills uniform, and he seems very comfortable. This area seems to fit him and his family from what I've been told and just very encouraged by his progress to this point."
