As the Bills get ready for training camp, here are 10 questions they need to answer

Sal Maiorana | Democrat and Chronicle

Show Caption Hide Caption Raw video: Sean McDermott wraps up Buffalo's mini-camp The head coach discusses his impressions of Josh Allen after the mandatory mini-camp.

Hey, in case you have forgotten, the Bills’ 17-year playoff drought is over.

Seriously, there will be no more lamenting the interminably embarrassing inability to make the postseason because, as of right now, the Bills are on a one-year playoff streak.

The drought, in all its horror, came to a glorious end on New Year's Eve when the Bills beat the Dolphins in Miami, then sat in their locker room watching on TV as Andy Dalton threw a miracle touchdown pass to Tyler Boyd that enabled the Bengals to upset the Ravens, thus knocking Baltimore out of the tournament and ushering the Bills in through the back door.

See the unbelievable scene in the Buffalo Bills locker room The Bills celebrate and Kyle Williams talks about his incredible touchdown.

What a night that was, but to their credit, coach Sean McDermott and general manager Brandon Beane long ago moved on from that celebration, and the moment the Bills were beaten by the Jaguars in the wild-card game, they turned their attention to this season.

Neither man would admit being satisfied with what happened last year because, as they said, the job never ends, and there’s simply no time to relish success if, at the end of the season, you aren’t raising the Lombardi Trophy above your head and clearing your eyes of confetti. The Eagles could afford to sit back and bask in the glory for a little bit, but not the Bills or the other 30 NFL teams.

“You hit the ground running as soon as that season is over,” said Beane. “There's a lot to get done. You're traveling, all-star games, getting things lined up. Next thing you know, it's Senior Bowl, Combine, pro days, visits ... it picks up a lot from our end. It's hard to slow down.”

When the Bills pull into town for their 19th training camp at St. John Fisher College on July 26, here are 10 questions they’ll need to answer before they take on the Ravens on Sept. 9 in Baltimore.

1. Will Josh Allen play in his rookie season?

My guess is that if the Bills are middling along at midseason and headed for a non-playoff season, and their offense is sputtering — both of which are entirely possible — McDermott will turn it over to Allen and begin the process of getting him ready for 2019.

In reality, that’s when the Bills should be looking for Allen to be the man. The blueprint to be followed was the Rams’ timetable for Jared Goff. He became the starter late in his 2016 rookie year with the Rams going nowhere, endured some massive struggles, but got much of that out of the way and had a very nice 2017 season.

That’s the track the Bills should be on with Allen. He’s barely in the first turn of his learning curve, and he’s still working through cleaning up his mechanics, especially his footwork. It got better after his college days at Wyoming when he worked with QB trainer Jordan Palmer, and David Culley and Brian Daboll continue that work, but there are still issues. A.J. McCarron was signed to be the placeholder, so let him be that.

2. But wait. What about Nathan Peterman?

Allen is presumably the future — at least he better be — and the thought was that McCarron was signed on the second day of free agency to be the starter until the kid was ready.

But wouldn’t you know it, Peterman, last year’s fifth-round pick known most for his five-interception implosion against the Chargers in his first NFL start, made it clear he should be under consideration for the opening day assignment in Baltimore. Peterman did extensive offseason training before returning to Buffalo, and the Bills were impressed by the progress he made. He looked confident on the field, and general manager Brandon Beane said from what he’s seen in the meeting room, he might be the smartest of the three quarterbacks. Do I believe Peterman can win the job? No, but he might make it interesting.

3. Do the Bills have an NFL-caliber wide receiver group?

If there was a puzzling aspect of Beane’s re-tooling of the roster, it was the lack of attention that was paid to wide receiver, especially given the travails of Zay Jones. And no, picking two receivers in the sixth and seventh rounds does not qualify because it’s highly unlikely Ray Ray McCloud or Austin Proehl will be difference-makers now, or ever.

Kelvin Benjamin is the only starter-worthy wideout on the team and in a passing league, that is not good. Maybe Jones will become the solid No. 2 the Bills thought they were getting when they picked him in the second round last year, but even before his two-surgery, one-arrest offseason, he had a highly disappointing rookie year that raised questions about his viability. Right now, no one stands out as a running partner for Benjamin, and in the slot, Jeremy Kerley is average — at best.

“That’s part of our challenge of proving people wrong in some regard,” McDermott said of the wideout group. “We’re counting on guys to step up, and so we’ve got a lot of work to do in that regard.”

4. Who will line up in the interior of the offensive line?

The Bills were fortunate that rookie Dion Dawkins was able to step in seamlessly for Cordy Glenn at left tackle in 2017. Will the transition from Richie Incognito and Eric Wood to whomever go quite as smoothly? That’s a tough duo to replace.

The Bills signed Russell Bodine away from the Bengals, where he started every game the last four years at center. At the guard spots, Vlad Ducasse and resurgent John Miller saw plenty of time with the 1’s, and then there’s Ryan Groy, who is sort of the Swiss Army knife of the line because he can play center and both guard spots. No matter what the combination, this is an area of concern for the Bills.

5. Can Tremaine Edmunds be an NFL defensive rookie of the year candidate?

All signs would indicate he will because he was plug-and-play from day one. Unless something unexpected happens, he’ll start on opening day. He’s only 20 years old, but he looks like a seasoned veteran out there, at least in practice.

We’ll see what happens when teams are blocking him in anger, but Edmunds is a dynamic athlete who will never have to come off the field because he plays the run and pass equally well.

6. Will Shaq Lawson make the final roster?

Lawson has been a disappointment since Rex Ryan made him a first-round pick in 2016. Yes, injuries have derailed him, but when he has played, he has rarely been a player opposing offenses have worried about.

Beane said in the spring this would be a key training camp for Lawson because the Bills have some interesting players along the defensive line and several could take Lawson’s job, specifically free-agent signee Trent Murphy, assuming he can get back after ACL surgery. He missed all of 2017, and didn’t do much work in the spring, though McDermott said the team was just playing it safe with him.

7. Who will be the nickel cornerback?

This is a key spot in McDermott’s defense, especially with Buffalo’s lack of depth at linebacker. The Bills will probably have at least five defensive backs on the field 60 percent of the time, maybe more, so they need someone to lock into this role.

Veteran free-agent signee Phillip Gaines has shared time with rookie fourth-round pick Taron Johnson as both players were brought in for this specific job. It’ll be a must-see camp battle. Also, versatile rookie fifth-round pick Siran Neal, who played corner, safety and linebacker in college, could see some time in the nickel in situations where the Bills are expecting a run because he offers more size at 206 pounds.

8. What will the Daboll offense look like?

McDermott said one of the primary reasons why he made the switch from Rick Dennison to Daboll this year at offensive coordinator was Daboll’s experience and finite knowledge of the modern passing game. McDermott realized he needed an upgrade, especially knowing the team was going to pick a quarterback early in the first round of the draft.

Daboll spent a lot of time with the Patriots, so you can expect some of the concepts that have helped New England dominate the AFC East for nearly two decades. There likely will be multiple route combinations out of multiple packages, and Daboll will also incorporate LeSean McCoy and the rest of the backs into the passing game. Remember, there were years when the Patriots hardly ran the ball, but Tom Brady threw short passes to his backs in what amounted to long hand offs.

Things will not go smoothly at first. Buffalo’s quarterback room is largely inexperienced, and the Bills are lacking top end talent at wide receiver and along the offensive line. McCoy is the prime weapon, and Daboll’s greatest challenge will be to not overwork McCoy.

9. Can Daboll get anything out of the tight end position?

Daboll was once Rob Gronkowski’s position coach, so he knows a little about helping tight ends reach greatness. Yes, it helps when Brady is the quarterback, and it also helps that Gronk is a freak of nature, but Daboll played a role in all that success.

The Bills have never had a dynamic tight end, and no, Keith McKeller and Pete Metzelaars don’t qualify. Neither do Jay Riemersma, Robert Royal, or anyone else you can think of.

Charles Clay, who was a Dolphins rookie when Daboll was OC in Miami in 2011, has the skills to be a true playmaker, but they haven’t shown up very often in his three years with Buffalo. Perhaps Daboll can unleash him, because having a useful tight end would certainly help out the Bills’ underwhelming passing game.

10. Which players could surprise and make the team?

On offense, running back Marcus Murphy could earn a spot, if for no other reason that he’d provide some youth. The top four backs on the roster are all 29 or older. Wide receiver Brandon Reilly should have played some last year, so if he can prove useful on special teams, he might have a chance to bump Andre Holmes off the team. Actually, if they have big camps, there are several receivers who could make the team including Malachi Dupre, Rod Streater, Robert Foster, Proehl and McCloud.

On defense, if the Bills keep only four ends, Owa Odighizuwa could outplay Lawson and win a spot, and at tackle, Rickey Hatley has a chance to beat out Adolphus Washington. There probably won’t be any surprises at linebacker because there’s so little depth. In the secondary, cornerback will be the position to watch as players such as Levi Wallace, Lafayette Pitts, Breon Borders, and Ryan Carter will all be in the mix for the sixth spot.

MAIORANA@Gannett.com