Buffalo, New York – Damien Harris came to the Buffalo Bills with no expectations. After spending his first four seasons with the New England Patriots, the Racer was looking for a fresh start and signed a one-year contract in free agency.
Harris said he is now “thriving” and looking forward to carrying that over into training camp and the regular season.
“I didn’t necessarily end my time in New England the way I wanted to, just to be blunt and honest, and, you know, I wasn’t ashamed of it,” said Harris. “It wasn’t, last year wasn’t my best year, so, I’m looking forward to recovering, rebuilding myself, and reclassifying myself.”
Harris, 26, said it was his best since being drafted in the third round of the 2019 draft by the Patriots. He’ll play a role in a renovated backroom with pressure on second-year linebacker James Cook to make a move forward as a potential running back.
Harris, who averaged 4.4 yards per carry last season, is just one of many offensive playmakers the Bills have added this season — a group that also includes wide receivers Trent Sherfield, Deonte Harty and first-round tight end Dalton Kincaid.
While the Bills had the second-best scoring offense (28.4 points per game) in the league last year in coordinator Ken Dorsey’s first season, his success declined in the second half of the year — falling from 54.37 (second) in EPA offense from Weeks 1-8 to 38.31 (8th) from 9-18 weeks – due to a myriad of factors, including quarterback Josh Allen’s elbow injury. New players were brought in to address some of the offense’s shortcomings. Let’s take a look at each group.
yields: Cook, Nyheim Hines, Reggie Gilliam (Defender)
plugins: Harris, Latavius Murray, Jordan Mims (right)
In addition to Harris, the Bills brought in Murray this offseason and signed Mims, an undrafted free agent, to compete for a roster spot. Hines returned after being underused (11 touches in nine regular season games) after a deal at last year’s deadline that sent Zack Moss in the 2020 third round to the Indianapolis Colts. Haynes’ ability to play special teams will be a factor in his chances of being on the roster.
Devin Singletary, who led the Bills rushing in each of his four seasons with the team, found a new home with the Houston Texans in free agency, opening the door for Cook to take on the running back role. 2022 second round He had 110 touches in his rookie year, however Bills offenses typically rely on a combination of their running backs, with the goal of giving opponent defenses more thought.
Murray and Harris could compete in training camp for opportunities in short-term situations. In 2022, the Bills were eighth in yards per rush in third and shortstop situations (4.7). The addition of a sized running back in Murray (6-foot-3, 230 pounds) with proven experience in Harris — who should show he can stay healthy after missing six games in 2022 with a groin injury — should help.
“I suspect [Harris and Murray] “It provides them with a physical nature while still being able to create big plays with their speed and I’m excited to see them,” said Dorsey.
Some of Harris’ best performances came against the Bills, as he rushed for over 100 yards in three of his five games against them. But in 2022, New England’s running back job went to Ramondry Stevenson, and Harris played just 22% of offensive snaps compared to Stevenson’s 66%.
Signing a short-term deal to play in a different offense is an opportunity for Harris.
“I’ve played at a really, really high level in this league and I want to continue to do that,” said Harris.
Harris’ best season was in 2021, when he rushed for 929 yards and 15 touchdowns.
yields: Stefon Diggs, Gabe Davis, Khalil Shakir, Ke Shawn Johnson, Isaiah Coulter
plugins: Sherfield, Harty, Galen Wayne (right), Justin Shorter (right), Desmon Batmon, Marcel Atman, Terrell Shavers (right), Brian Thompson (right)
There are 13 wide receivers on the Bills roster now, so a good number of cuts will come in here. Seven made the list last season. How the situation changes will be something to watch during training camp.
Sherfield, who is on his fourth team in four years, took advantage of the increased opportunities when Diggs wasn’t around for volunteer OTAs and didn’t participate in team workouts during the mandatory minicamp.
“Trent Sherfield, get a lot of Z reps and learn this offense. I’ve loved what I’ve seen of Trent so far, a very hard working dude,” Allen said during the OTAs in May. “He’s one of the hardworking guys on the team. He doesn’t complain about anything. He’s just rolling in now.”
Yet yards of catch were Allen’s territory and the Bills stressed improvement in 2022 — then the team finished 29th in the YAC per reception (4.5) last season. Sherfield and Harty must help there; Harty has a career yards after catch percentage of 53.2% and has shown his speed as a returner in his past.
This speed can help open things up for the rest of the offense. Diggs’ production declined in the second half of the 2022 season – in his first nine games, he had 72 receptions on 98 targets for 985 yards and seven touchdowns. In the nine games that followed, including the playoffs, Diggs caught 47 receptions on 74 goals and four touchdowns.
“[Harty’s] A vertical threat, and if you’ve got a legitimate vertical threat that can help open things up, for Gabe or Steve or Khalil, any of the other guys who’re a receiver,” General Manager Brandon Bean said in March. So, I think it’s just going to be a piece. Others Dorsey can use as he pleases, as I said, outside or inside.”
yields: Dawson Knox, Quentin Morris
plugins: Dalton Kincaid (right), Nick Gugemos, Joel Wilson (right)
Knox, Kincaid and Morris will land on the list of nominees unless something unexpected happens. Kincaid, whom the Bills traded in a first-round draft pick, is the flashy new target to watch as he opens up to offense.
Dorsey said during the OTAs that they are still learning about Kincaid and how it will be used. But one expectation is that Kincaid will be used as a tight hole of sorts to improve production in the middle of the field. The Bills led the league in touchdown percentage from the slot in 2022 (7.1%) and finished 15th in yards per reception in the slot (11.8). One of the selling points on Kincaid was its “elite hands,” per Beane.
“[Kincaid] He really has a great vision of what the defense does. “Great hands, great ability to run on the road, really well polished to come out of college,” said Knox. “…it would be great to get him into the penalty area, run the ball around a little bit, and then if we were both together at the same time, create some mismatch and get one of those at full-back. So I think the more 12 you get, the more you can The more versatile finishing combos you play, the more versatile you can be in offense.”