Buffalo Bills Rookie Mini Camp Kicked off on Friday and almost immediately there was a different vibe then in past years. Quarterback and first round draft pick, E.J. Manuel was captivating, in his first practice he had calmness and poise that has been missing from Western New York since former quarterback Drew Bledsoe rode into town back in 2002.
As soon as position drills began and Manuel began throwing the ball to his receivers, it was apparent in why the team selected him 16th overall. His passes have a velocity to them which allows the ball to get to where it needs to be fast, but is catchable at the same time. One of Manual’s targets was Marquise Goodwin.
“The fact that I have Marquise Goodwin on my team now, I have to get used to that, just letting it go because sometimes you want to just be perfect. But with that guy you can just throw it out there. All the receivers can run, but definitely Marquise,” said Manuel.
“You want to get the playmakers the ball and that’s what we did today,” Manuel added.
There is also early chemistry with another new wide receiver Robert Woods and Manuel looked his way several times during practice. “We actually had the same visit at the Jets, so we were able to hang out pretty much the whole day or two days. It’s just crazy that we ended up on the same team, so instantly we texted each other and we were happy about it.”
Coach Doug Marrone was pleased with how both new quarterbacks performed at practice. “I thought EJ (Manuel) did well, and I thought Jeff (Tuel) threw well. I thought both quarterbacks did a nice job coming in here. I thought what we gave them, not a large package, but we got them off and they looked like…both the quarterbacks got off to a good start. Again, the offensive line really blocked well today because it was mostly seven-on-seven. I was happy with both quarterbacks today.”
All four receivers,Robert Woods, Marquise Goodwin, Da’Rick Rogers, and Brandon Kaufman bring different elements to the wide receiver position which could cause opposing teams to struggle while defending them.
Woods ran crisp clean routes, as expected from the scouting reports. Goodwin didn’t show his full world class speed on Friday, but watching him it is obvious he has it and it seems unlikely Manuel will be able to overthrow him. Rogers is an extremely balanced wide receiver as he runs good routes. He has speed but not like Goodwin, but has the strength to potentially punish smaller defenders. Lastly, there’s Kaufman who had the catch of the day easily with a one handed grab that looked effortless. Kaufman stands in at 6’ 5” and he has huge hands which will enable him to become an excellent possession receiver and legit redzone threat.
“Well you know what I was curious about, honestly, coming out here was that a lot of times and you see this that these guys have never worked with each other before,” said Marrone. “One of the things you see is just kind of how they have a feel for each other. I have been in places sometimes where it is natural. Guys go out there and throw the ball around like they did today. I thought they did a good job. Sometimes you go out there and you have to get to a better feel of where they are going to be and where they are going. I thought both sides did a nice job of that.”
Kim Snyder contributed to this story.
