AP

The Bills, along with everyone else who plays the Patriots, will have to figure out not only how to cover tight end Rob Gronkowski but also how to cover tight end Martellus Bennett. Bills coach Rex Ryan hopes he has an answer in linebackers Preston Brown and Reggie Ragland.

“I’m encouraged by it,” Ryan told reporters on Thursday regarding the presence of Brown and Ragland. “But, you know, I think we’ll see how tough it is to cover those dudes when we get that chance. But they’re all — the thing that gets you is they’re two giant red zone threats, like, that’s probably the biggest thing. You know, Gronk being the No. 1 red zone threat in the league and Bennett is probably just below him. So, it’s like that’s going to be a nightmare for any team, not just us.”

Brown currently isn’t focusing on whether he and Ragland can get it done.

“It’s definitely going to be a difficult challenge, those two twins going to go down the seams, it’s going to be hard,” Brown said. “It’s like what they used to do back with Aaron Hernandez. It’s going to be interesting, but we’re not there right now so I mean I know the coach is going to talk about the Patriots, but I’m worried about whoever we got Week One.”

Brown and Ragland may be even better suited to stop Gronkowski and Bennett if they cut back on the candy. Brown explained that he’s been wearing hoodies on hot days at practice as a way to hide his snacks.

“The coaches and the training staff told me to take off my hoodie, but I wear my hoodie because I keep candy and gum in there, so they kind of made me take it off but I found another shirt with some pockets in it,” Brown said. “Everybody thinks I just be trying to swag. I just wear [a hoodie] because I hide candy in it.”

Brown gets candy from Ragland, who provides it apparently as one of the lingering rookie traditions.

“Reggie’s got some good candy. He went to Target and got all the big fun-size, big Halloween style stuff. So he’s got candy for days,” Brown said. “Everybody goes through the candy year. . . . They’ve been doing it for as long as I know. . . . I had to get it for [Brandon] Spikes and Keith Rivers and all those guys. I think I was the best candy-getter but he’s second place right now.”

The Bills hope to be competing for something more than second place in the AFC East this year. To get there, Brown and Ragland will need to turn that candy into fuel for slowing down the best one-two tight-end punch in the league.