Louie DiBiaseTwitter: @DiBiaseLOE
With Buffalo Bills training camp set to be in full force on Thursday, 91 players will battle at St. John Fisher College to try and earn a spot on the 53-man roster for the season.
While some will just miss the cut and be part of the 38 cuts before the start of the season, others could surprise people and take full advantage of their opportunity to create a significant role for themselves this season.
On a yearly basis, there are instances of players on the roster bubble who make the most of avoiding the dreaded "coach wants to see you" conversation. For instance, how many people expected Robert Foster to have the season he did in 2018?
Who will be the player in 2019 that grabs both a roster spot and real playing time in the regular season?
Fans took to Twitter for Wednesday's late night discussion to give their thoughts:
The underdog receiver story continues:
The most popular name for participants of this discussion was an undrafted rookie wide receiver out of West Virginia.
David Sills, watching him play he knows how to position himself to hold defenders off so only he can make a catch on the ball. He was once a highly recruited QB so understands how they like receivers to run routes and puts himself in position for him and his qb to make plays.
— Aaron Schaefer (@AaronSchaefer2) July 25, 2019David Sills
— Tim Wroblewski (@Tdubbs113096) July 25, 2019In his final two seasons at West Virginia, David Sills finished with 1,966 yards and 33 touchdowns. The Bills added John Brown and Cole Beasley to their young duo of Foster and Zay Jones, but none of the top-four receivers are elite pass-catchers that can't lose their jobs.
Perhaps with that in mind, fans also elected to pick other receivers to make a suprising contribution in 2019.
Isaiah Mckenzie, hes a sneaky nice piece to have
— --☀️⛈Phoenician Nick (@PhoenicianNick) July 25, 2019Duke Williams
— Justin Barends (@JustinBarends) July 25, 2019Touches for T.J.:
Even with LeSean McCoy and Frank Gore already in the backfield, it didn't seem like T.J. Yeldon's spot on the roster was in jeapordy. Then the Bills selected Devin Singletary in the third round of the NFL Draft, and suddenly Yeldon could be on the outside looking in.
The former Jaguars running back has a lot of experience as a change of pace, pass-catching back. If he can beat out one of the other running backs or sticks as the fourth member of the backfield, fans believe he could have multiple roles.
Yeldon. I think he was the better of the two backs in Jacksonville. Was very happy when he was declared out in the wildcard game 2 years ago
— clintmckenna (@clintmckenna1) July 25, 2019Yeldon or Sills. Yeldon could be huge on special teams and they seem to love Sills so they might keep him to keep him and force him into sets
— NoahMorse (@NJLM44) July 25, 2019Honorable mentions:
Here are some of the other selections that could go from bubble to big time:
Trent Murphy
— Elvis James Sypek (@ElvisZerodx) July 25, 2019EJ Gaines.
— DLaVa84 (@DLaVa84) July 25, 2019Crooooooooom
— Taylor Beatty (@TheTaylorBeatty) July 25, 2019Eli Harold
— Jeff Bakowski (@JSBBUBBA) July 25, 2019Author's choice:
This discussion brought up a lot of interesting names that could be important pieces in 2019, despite starting training camp on the brink of getting cut. One that was not mentioned who could end up being the most productive player at his position is rookie tight end Tommy Sweeney.
The seventh round pick is not guranteed a spot on the roster as he likely will need to beat out one of three fellow tight ends in Dawson Knox, Tyler Kroft, and Jason Croom. If the Boston College product can make the cut, he has a real chance to make plays with Josh Allen in 2019.
Sweeney was a strong blocking tight end at the collegiate level, but he also provides a large target for Allen at 6' 5". That could be very valuable in an offense that has just one receiver standing at 6' 2" or taller.
Especially in the red zone.
ESPN draft analyst Mel Kiper spoke highly of Sweeney during the draft process, saying he has some of the best hands in the entire draft class.
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