As the NFL legal tampering period officially ended, the Buffalo Bills are expected to lose starting offensive guard David Edwards to the New Orleans Saints. Edwards agreed to terms on a 4-year, $ 61 million deal worth up to $15 million per year with his new team.
Edwards was a durable guard with the Bills, but he wasn't worth keeping, possibly risking the loss of starting center Connor McGovern due to salary cap issues. Now that Edwards has departed, the Bills must decide who will replace him.
Four replacements Bills should consider for their new starting guard
1. Alec Anderson (Buffalo Bills)
Anderson brings one area to the position that Edwards lacked: playing tough with a bit of mean-spiritedness.
At 6-foot, 305 pounds, Anderson looks like a typical modern-day NFL lineman. He's typically used in jumbo sets where the Bills will put an extra lineman in to block in the running game.
The 26-year-old is also known as a swing NFL lineman, meaning he can play tackle and move around the line to either guard or center.
Moving him around the line would surely confuse NFL defenses, as that's what a Joe Brady-led offense does. Not only is he versatile, but he just re-signed with the Bills on a 1-year, $2.5 million deal, which would make him a cheaper option than Edwards if they were to plug him in as a guard.
2. Sedrick Van Pran-Granger (Buffalo Bills)
Literally, this guy is a dawg, and it's not just because he played college ball at the University of Georgia. He is a big guy at 6-foot-4, 310 pounds, and he's another competitor who plays with an aggressive attitude on the line.
Plugging Van Pran-Granger in as the left guard would add more weight to an already huge and talented offensive line and could boost team performance. Replacing Edwards with the 24-year-old blocking for the Tush Push, along with another nasty guy like Anderson pushing, would help Josh Allen possibly score another 55-yard touchdown, as happened in last year's playoff game against the Jacksonville Jaguars.
If he were to earn a spot on the roster, plugging him next to McGovern would be smart, as he's still on a rookie contract through 2028.
3. Billy Schrauth (Notre Dame)
Schrauth has everything it takes to be an elite NFL guard. At 6-foot-5, 310 pounds, he is another tough guy the Bills are looking for when adding another guard to replace Edwards.
Notre Dame's offensive linemen every year are just built to play at the next level, and Schrauth is no exception. He and the line have been responsible for helping out running backs Jeremiah Love and Jadarian Price declare for the draft alongside him.
The job of a guard in Buffalo's line is to open up inside holes for running back James Cook to run through and also push him through for extra yards. Oh, and he's another tough guard for the Tush Push despite rarely using it at Notre Dame.
Bringing Schrauth in late in the draft would be another player on a rookie contract who could compete with Van Pran-Granger and Anderson for the starting role.
4. Robert Jones (Dallas Cowboys)
If the Bills want to add even more weight to their o-line, they could go for an O'Cyrus Torrance-esque body type in Jones. At 6-foot-4, 334 pounds, Jones is a mountain of a man who has the size of an offensive tackle.
Jones is a massive, powerful athlete who excels in heavy personnel jumbo sets, similar to what Anderson already does for the Bills.
The 27-year-old would make sense, as he would be a free agent from another team, still making less money than Edwards, and would add another big body to the line.
The motto the Bills want to hear from their offensive line is, "Bigger, Stronger, and Tougher."