1 - Tre' named one of NFL's top 10 cornerbacks in 2017
In his first NFL season, Bills cornerback Tre'Davious White rose through the rookie rankings. However, his commendable campaign quickly compared to his veteran counterparts.
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White's name was found on NFL.com’s list of top 10 coverage CBs from the 2017 season. He and Marshon Lattimore of the Saints were the only two rookies to crack the top 10.
The top corners included: A.J. Bouye, Chris Harris, Marcus Peters, Lattimore, Jalen Ramsey, Xavien Howard, Trevor Williams, Patrick Robinson, Patrick Peterson, and White.
Here's what Matt Harmon of NFL.com had to say about White being the 10th-best coverage CB in his rookie year.
Marshon Lattimore got more headlines and awards, but he wasn't the only rookie corner to announce his presence to the NFL with authority. The Bills' first-round pick proved to be a key piece in rebuilding Buffalo's secondary under the watch of first-year head coach Sean McDermott. Opposing quarterbacks registered a 68.5 passer rating when testing White in coverage, a top-10 mark among qualifying cornerbacks. White intercepted five percent of the targets sent his way, helping Buffalo rank sixth as a team with 18 picks. The Bills have their own budding shutdown corner in place as they look to give an encore to their long-awaited playoff return from this past season.
White proved he's more than capable of being a disruptive defensive player in the league. His ability to alter the game was only matched by a few players from this past season.
White was one of two players in the league with 18-plus passes defended, four-plus interceptions, and two-plus fumble recoveries. In addition, he was responsible for five fourth-quarter turnovers (four INTs & one FF/FR), which was tied for the most in the league.
2 - Peter King's reasoning behind Rosen to Buffalo
On Sunday, Peter King of Sports Illustrated’s Monday Morning Quarterback explained a potential way the Buffalo Bills could select Josh Rosen in the 2018 NFL Draft. It would require dishing out some of the team's draft capital, but the Bills conveniently have a lot of it this year.
King's mock deal is between the Bills and the Broncos. He's guessing that Denver lands Kirk Cousins in free agency, which means they'll avoid taking a QB with their fifth overall pick.
Here's what he said in his latest edition of MMQB about a potential deal between Buffalo and Denver.
If Denver gets Cousins, I could see Elway dealing his one (fifth overall) for Buffalo's two first-round picks (21,22) and another high pick this year or next… to allow Buffalo to jump up and get a good quarterback prospect.
That QB prospect he's referring to is Rosen out of UCLA. In King's 2018 NFL Draft Big Board, he said Rosen's probably the most pro-ready QB in this year's class.
Of course, Buffalo must be in love with Rosen to trade into the top-five for him. King sees the Bills being a threat for years to come, so if Rosen is their man, this might be the year to strike a deal.
"Let's just say the Bills don't get a quarterback of the future in free agency. I don't know if they will or not. Let's say they need a quarterback after five weeks of free agency," King said on the John Murphy Show. "To me, I think they have to basically zone in on the guy they really like. They've got to do whatever it takes to get him. I don't see the Bills in next year, or two, or three, having a top-10 draft pick. This is the year because you have the draft capital to move up if you need to. This is the year you figure out which one of these guys you like and you really try going hard after him."
3 - Buffalo recorded fifth-most rookie snaps from 2017 season
In a season where the Bills made a push into the playoffs, the team received healthy contributions from their rookie class. By the season's end, Buffalo's rookies saw the fifth-most snaps compared to other teams' newcomers.
The Bills rookies tallied 3,488 snaps (including postseason) in 2017, according to Pro Football Focus. The top-five teams in terms of rookie snaps were: San Francisco (5,033), New Orleans (4,267), Jacksonville (3,671), Cleveland (3,590), and Buffalo (3,488).
Here's how many snaps each of Buffalo's rookies chalked up during the regular season in 2017: Tre'Davious White (1,092), Zay Jones (793), Dion Dawkins (784), Matt Milano (452), Nathan Peterman (97), and Tanner Vallejo (13).
Each of Buffalo's six rookies played some sort of role on Sundays. Whether it was on offense, defense, or special teams, the six selections from the 2017 draft played a pivotal part in the team's postseason push.
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