While the thermometer rose in Orchard Park on Thursday, wide receiver Jake Kumerow continued to stay hot at Buffalo Bills training camp.
As if the Kumerow hype hasn’t been enough already, he was a personal highlight reel in the 80-degree heat during the 1-on-1 wide receiver versus defensive back portion of practice outside the ADPRO Sports Training Center. Then he carried over making plays into the 11-on-11 period.
Twice in the 1-on-1s, Kumerow was matched up against Tre’Davious White. The All-Pro cornerback had excellent coverage on him both times, yet Kumerow made grabs on perfectly thrown balls from quarterback Josh Allen on each.
On the first, White and Kumerow were running right with one another on a deep ball. White couldn’t really have been covering him any tighter. But as a perfectly thrown ball came in, Kumerow pinned it against the two of them as he came down to the ground with it for a would-be touchdown.
On the second, again, White was in really good position on a crossing route. Kumerow had to extend his arms for the ball - and needed every bit of his length - but pulled it in as he went to the ground.
Then during the 11-on-11 portion of practice, Kumerow hooked up with quarterback Mitchell Trubisky for two big plays. The first was clearly a blown coverage by the defense resulting in Kumerow getting wide-open down the field for a touchdown. The second was in-between defenders on a crosser.
The bottom line is Kumerow started with a strong camp and continues to impress every day, regardless of situation or quarterback throwing to him.
Defensive standouts:
Linebacker Tremaine Edmunds continued to make plays by using his length. It certainly helped him on a couple of passes. He knocked one away, and also had an interception on a pass from Allen that looked like the Bills quarterback forced into traffic.
Cornerback Dane Jackson, who had been too up-and-down over the first week for my liking, had his best day overall. He was much more consistent, including excellent coverage on Stefon Diggs in 1-on-1s that caused an incompletion.
Drops:
Tight end Dawson Knox, who had been very consistent catching the ball through the first week, had a really tough drop on a would-be touchdown towards the end of practice. It was a nice pass from Trubisky, right where it needed to be to allow Knox to catch it and keep running. But Knox didn’t make a play he clearly should have.
Catching the ball consistently has been an issue for Knox though two seasons, but up until that play he’s been solid making grabs this camp.
Before that, Trubisky hooked up with rookie wide receiver Marquez Stevenson for a really nice pass and catch for good yardage. However, shortly after, on a very similar play, Stevenson dropped a ball that was right in his hands. It was another good throw by Trubisky.
On another play, quarterback Jake Fromm threaded a perfect needle between defenders to tight end Quintin Morris. Morris had it go off his hands and into the air, where rookie defensive back Tariq Thompson did a great job to grab it before it hit the ground for an interception.
The defense also had a drop, albeit a very tough ball to come down with, when quarterback Davis Webb’s pass was deflected by linebacker Joe Giles-Harris and rookie cornerback Damar Hamlin just missed making the play on the ball. It was a good effort. Giles-Harris did come up with a pick of his own against Webb a bit later.
Allen to Diggs:
The Allen-to-Diggs connection was in mid-season form on one play in 11-on-11 when Diggs ran a really nice route, subtly moving at the last moment to get open and Allen finding and leading him for a big gain. It was impressive how both saw the same thing in real time.
That said, the entire Bills offense just looks really buttoned up right now, especially for this time of year and through only seven practices. But that’s what happens when you have so much continuity on the field and every coach returning. The offense doesn’t make many mistakes. So when they do, they’re noteworthy.
They didn’t make mistakes on two long run-after-catches by running backs when both Zack Moss and Devin Singletary had big gains, with an escort from center Mitch Morse on both, as well as guard Jon Feliciano on one.
Participation:
Three players appeared on the post-practice injury report: Wide receiver Emmanuel Sanders (foot), guard Forrest Lamp (calf) and running back Christian Wade (shoulder). Sanders and Lamp didn’t practice, while Wade left the session early.
The Bills also activated guard Ike Boettger from the Reserve/COVID-19 list. He practiced in Thursday's practice. Tight end Jacob Hollister (back) also dressed for practice, but didn’t appear to take any reps during 11-on-11 drills.
Up next:
The team is back on the field on Friday for another 10 a.m. ET practice outside the ADPRO Sports Training Center.
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