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Earlier this month, Bills General Manager Doug Whaley said that the Bills drafted “at least three” immediate starters in this year’s draft and named linebacker Shaq Lawson, linebacker Reggie Ragland and defensive tackle Adolphus Washington as the players that would “start right off the bus.”

It was a deviation from what we normally hear from teams about rookies needing to earn their roles in the NFL, even when it’s fairly obvious that the team plans to have them in the starting lineup come September. In an interview with Greg Bedard of SI.com, Whaley explained his statement was based on the makeup of the Bills’ roster and the team’s belief that the newcomers are the best people to fill holes in Buffalo.

Whaley also said that he’s comfortable with any consequences that might come with being wrong about how quickly they’ll be in the lineup.

“If they don’t perform, then they’re not going to play,” Whaley said. “We’re going to play the best people. We think they’re the best people, and if they come in and don’t perform that well, then we didn’t do our job right. So that’s on us. I have no problem with that. We’re putting a lot of pressure on those guys. We believe we have guys that have come from winning programs, and they’re not going to be wide-eyed and bushy-tailed. They come from basically pro programs that know how to win, and they’ve been successful in their past, and we expect that to continue.”

Whaley’s plan has already taken one blow with Lawson undergoing shoulder surgery this week. While there’s no firm timetable for when he might return, starting in Week One looks like a longshot and the absence is one that other teams feared Lawson would face heading into the draft.

Whaley rejected that notion before Lawson hurt his shoulder in drills this week, something that falls into the same “on us” category that he used for the prospect of underperforming rookies and something that could be an obstacle to Whaley staying in his job should the Bills fail to take a step forward this season.