1 - DraftWire says Bills made a steal in round three*
*The long holiday weekend is over, and the Bills are back on the field this morning to continue OTAs. A lot of young players make up the Bills roster including the 22 rookies the team added over the past few weeks.
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Of the 22 rookies, nine of them came to the Bills through this year's draft. According to DraftWire, the Bills third-round pick, Harrison Phillips is a steal for the Bills defensive line.
The Bills paid big money to free agent Star Lotulelei to fill the void left behind by trading Marcell Dareus, but veteran Kyle Williams can't play forever. That left Buffalo needing to find a starting-caliber interior defender heading into the 2018 NFL draft, and they stole one of this year's best from an extremely deep class.
With the opportunity to be the backup for multiple veterans on the defensive line, Phillips will be able to be a sponge for most of his rookie season. This way, he will be able to work on his pass rush, while continuing to develop the run-stopping skills that make him so dangerous.
Phillips' combination of big numbers, football IQ and physical traits should have gotten him strong consideration in the latter part of the first round. Instead, the Bills landed him near the end of Day 2, making him one of the bigger bargain picks of the entire draft.
*Look for Phillips to make an immediate impact as a rotational player in his rookie season before becoming a full-time starter once Williams finally hangs up his cleats.
Check out photos from One Bills Drive from the Bills OTAs Day 3.
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2 - Bills quarterbacks enjoying a healthy Kelvin Benjamin
When Sean McDermott told media that Kelvin Benjamin looked healthy last week, media kept a watchful eye on the Bills wide receiver to see how he fared during OTAs. What they learned is that he very well may have found the steps he lost.
Last season, Benjamin was not playing football at 100 percent. Even with the impact he could make on the Bills offense, it was clear that he couldn't go through the motions at full speed. Ever since Benjamin's grade-three ACL tear that cost him his entire second NFL season, he has been looking to reach the numbers that he met during his first season in the NFL.
In 2014, he recorded 73 receptions for 1,008 yards and nine touchdowns. Since, Benjamin has only 10 touchdowns and 1,500 yards receiving. Not bad numbers, but numbers he proved in the past could be better.
During OTAs, Benjamin looked leaner, stronger and most importantly faster. The Bills quarterbacks noticed it too.
"Yeah, he's a great player, huge target, really, if you just put the ball around him, he does a great job of snagging it and making a play," said A.J. McCarron. "He's been awesome to work with and I'm looking forward to the future."
"Kelvin's an unbelievable talent," said Nathan Peterman. "Obviously, all of his measurables but he wants it, too. He's got the mentality that 'I'm going to go beat the guy in front of me,' and 'if you just throw it up, I'm going to catch it.' That's huge when you've got a guy like that with his talent; it's helpful."
3 - Making the most of Twitter as a Bills fanFans don't have long until there is a heavy lull in action for the offseason. Before that happens, now is the time to stock up on as many Bills outlets to assist in getting your offseason Bills football fix. Here are a few suggestions on where to look, at least on the twitter sphere.
First, for the analytics lover of us out there, Pro Football Focus has a twitter designated specifically to the Bills, @PFFBills. There, you'll see how the Bills have been stacking up compared to the rest of the league, and how PFF grades them.
Want to watch the Bills score a touchdown at least once a day? The twitter account Bills TD a Day will help you out with that. Go back and see the days of Jim Kelly, Thurman Thomas, Doug Flutie, Andre Reed and many more Bills legends all through this account. It's right in the name. One touchdown a day.
How about supporting a Bills super-fan? He went up on stage to announce the draft pick of Harrison Phillips, and he's one of the most recognizable Bills fans there are. @PanchoBilla1 is the twitter account where you can follow along with Pancho's fight against cancer, and share in his love of the Bills. SOCIAL MEDIA POSTS OF THE DAY
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