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Grading the Bills’ rookie class midway through the 2024 NFL season

Grading the Bills’ rookie class midway through the 2024 NFL season

The Buffalo Bills internally viewed the 2024 offseason as a transition period and an opportunity for the team to part ways with several key veterans across the roster and reset the competitive window, giving young contributors opportunities to develop in prominent roles. The idea came to the fore in the first weeks of the 2024 season, as in addition to the second- and third-year players who saw significant improvement on both offense and defense, several members of the 2024 NFL Draft class were cast in significant roles early on.

Buffalo is 6-2 about halfway through the season, so now is a good time to take a look at the team’s 2024 class and evaluate its members based on eight games. Here’s how the Bills’ rookies are faring in the first stretch of the campaign.

Disclaimer: In the interest of fairness, players who have not logged any snaps will not receive ratings. This means that Edefuan Ulofoshio, Daequan Hardy and Travis Clayton will not appear on this list.

Keon Colema

Paintings by Ed Mulholland-Imagn

So far, Keon Coleman has been everything that was advertised, especially in the last two games where he caught nine passes for 195 yards and one score. While statistically not as impressive as his Week 7 performance, his Week 8 game in Buffalo against the Seattle Seahawks was arguably his best game as a professional as he consistently demonstrated his physicality, challenged his catching ability, and knowledge about the red zone that made him attractive to bills in the run-up to the bill. His first-quarter touchdown against former Pro Bowl running back Riq Woolen perhaps he embodies this idea; Buffalo has long lacked a player who can step up and win aerial battles in the end zone, and Coleman’s ability to do so greatly expands the Bills’ offensive options not only for the remainder of the 2024 season, but for years to come. His decent but rather poor play in the first few weeks of the season keeps him from getting an A+ rating, but if he can build on his last two performances going forward, he’ll be a favorite.

Grade: A

Related: Bills’ defensive signal-caller is battling back-to-back ‘frustrating’ injuries

Cole Bisho

Paintings by Marek Konezny-Imagn

Cole Bishop is a player that Buffalo’s management sees as a long-term player and future starter; that said, his play as a rookie wasn’t great. A shoulder injury in training camp and the subsequent lack of preseason reps deprived him of crucial playing time at a key stage of his development, and he was expected to struggle when thrust into the starting lineup while starting at safety. Taylor Rapp suffered a concussion in Week 4. He looked like he was making his first career start in Week 5 against the Houston Texans after a first-quarter miscommunication with cornerback Rasul Douglas resulted in a 67-yard touchdown run by Nico Collins. He became more and more confident as the game progressed, but since Rapp’s return to the lineup he has only received scant reps. It’s way too early to hit the panic button on Bishop; the sample size is way too small and he showed some promise, namely a breakup in Week 2 against the Miami Dolphins. That said, despite his upsides, it’s hard to give the rookie anything more than an average rating at this point.

Grade: C

DeWayne Carte

Images by Gregory Fisher-Imagn

Third-round pick DeWayne Carter, like Bishop, showed some growing pains during his first reps, but has steadily improved as the season has progressed. Head coach Sean McDermott stated that the rookie is in line to “key” in the build-up to the campaign, which became evident as the season accelerated with Carter playing between 46% and 54% of the team’s defensive snaps in Weeks 4-7. He showed off numerous impressive plays, namely an infield stop against Baltimore Ravens kicker Derrick Henry in Week 4 and a fourth-down stop against the Tennessee Titans in Week 7. He recorded five quarterback pressures and seven run stops, per PFF. before going down with a wrist injury in Week 7 that required surgery and landed him on injured reserve. Once he finally returns, he will look to build on his strong early fundamentals, and the Bills will want his flashes to be more consistent; that said, it looks like Carter has the makings of a long-term NFL defensive tackle.

Grade: B+

Ray Davie

Paintings by Marek Konezny-Imagn

Buffalo selected Kentucky reliever Ray Davis on day three in hopes that he would be a direct complement to reigning Pro Bowler James Cook, and the 24-year-old has done just that so far. He currently ranks third among rookies in receiving yards with 242, and he connected on eight of nine targets for 79 yards (his most impressive catch was a 42-yard reception in Week 6). He won over fans with his physical play and endearing story, with many in the Bills Mafia calling for the rookie to get more playing time and see the team’s defensive line develop into a true two-headed monster. Time will tell if Davis will increase his snap count as the year ends, but after eight games, a few things are clear: He has his upside and looks like he’ll maintain a role in the league for at least a game a while.

Rating: A+

Related: How the Bills can win the AFC East title in the coming weeks

Sedrick Van Pran-Grange

Paintings by Marek Konezny-Imagn

Fifth-round pick Sedrick Van Pran-Granger technically he qualifies for the list because he saw some overtime snaps, but it seems unfair to give him a grade because he only played 27 offensive snaps in four games. He didn’t allow pressure on three tackles per PFF, but was only graded adequately as a run blocker; that said, the sample size is far too small to be properly assessed. The multi-time College Football National Champion can still be a long-term part of Buffalo’s offense, and we’re taking the easy way out by giving Van Pran-Granger an incomplete lineup.

Degree: Inc.

Javon Solomo

Pictures by Joe Nicholson-Imagn

Javon Solomon fell to the fifth round of the 2024 NFL Draft despite leading the nation with 16 overall picks last season, and his not-so-high ranking was apparently the only reason he fell to the third day. He proved that assumption to be correct given his modest output this season, recording five tackles, four quarterback hits, two sacks and a forced fumble in just 39 defensive snaps. He was buried on the depth chart behind Greg Rousseau, AJ Epenesa, Dawuane Smoot and the returning Von Miller, but he clearly impresses when given the chance. He may never develop into an all-around lineman, but his upside is not encouraging considering his early impact in a limited role.

Grade: A-

Tylan Grabel

Images by Gregory Fisher-Imagn

Tylan Grable’s professional career got off to a promising start with strong preseason results that allowed him to usurp Ryan Van Demark as the team’s preferred depth attacker. He only played in seven offensive snaps before suffering an abdominal injury in Week 3 that landed him on injured reserve. He’s a standout athlete who showed enough in the offseason to position him as an interesting development unit, but again, his numbers in the regular season are too low to be fairly judged.

Degree: Inc.

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