1. Bleacher Report offers these 'offseason gifts' for Josh Allen
It's always fun to get new toys to play with. Free agency just two weeks away and draft season heating up, Bleacher Report gifted players to some of the NFL's youngest quarterbacks. At the top of the list is Josh Allen.
In this scenario the "gifts" Allen will receiver are tight end Austin Hooper and wide receiver Robby Anderson.
The Bills have $82 million in cap space (per OverTheCap.com), a playoff-caliber roster and few other needs, so let's do some serious shopping. Anderson is the best pure deep threat on the market, making him the perfect target for Allen's dump-'n'-chase deep balls. And with Anderson and John Brown keeping safeties 25 yards off the ball, the versatile Hooper could catch 110 passes roaming the open space in the middle of the field.
2. PFF: One trade we'd like to see Buffalo make
It's clear that Jacksonville Jaguars defensive end Yannick Ngakoue no longer wants to be in Florida. Yet, the Jaguars are intent on placing the franchise tag on the edge rusher. Other than a situation that involves Ngakoue sitting out a full season, the realistic solution is a sign-and-trade to appease both sides. The Bills have been commonly connected as a trade partner.
Pro Football Focus would like to see that trade happen.
It's a fit that makes sense. Buffalo had one of the better defenses in the NFL last season, ending the year ranked fourth in expected points allowed per play. But in many ways, it was a situation where the whole was greater than the sum of its parts. The Bills could stand to add a young, elite pass-rusher this offseason. Ngakoue certainly fits that bill (pun intended).
Ngakoue has a PFF grade of 88.6 over the past three seasons, which ranks 11th among the position. Ngakoue is only 25-years old.
Considering the Bills already lost Lorenzo Alexander to retirement and could be losing Shaq Lawson — a player who has shown signs of growth over the past several seasons — to free agency, there is ample opportunity for Ngakoue to step in alongside Jerry Hughes and Trent Murphy for the 2020 season. The Bills will likely have to overpay to secure him long term, but they're one of the few teams that can afford to do so with their current cap situation.
3. What is a game management coach?
On Wednesday, the Bills announced multiple promotions along the coaching staff including Leslie Frazier being boosted to assistant head coach.
One other promotion that stands out is offensive quality control coach Marc Lubick promoted to assistant wide receivers coach/game management.
The role of a game management coach is relatively new to the NFL as teams aim to become smarter and use more and more analytics in coaching decisions.
Lubick and the Bills join teams like the Panthers and Falcons in bringing in a game management coach in recent years. When hired with their respective clubs the roles were to assist the head coach in clock management, replay challenges, and other situational football analysis. Sean McDermott has yet to share the exact details of Lubick's new responsibilities.
Lubick has 11 years of experience within the NFL and has spent the past three seasons with the Bills.
