Adding arguably the league’s best corner to one of its best up-and-coming players would be a dream come true
The Buffalo Bills and Denver Broncos will face off in the Wild Card Round of the NFL Playoffs this weekend. It’s just the second time these former AFL foes have met in the playoffs. The first meeting was for the right to go to the Super Bowl, as the Bills defeated the Broncos in a defensive affair, winning 10-7 in the AFC Championship Game to clinch a berth in Super Bowl XXVI.
This week, the Bills and Broncos won’t have a trip to the Super Bowl on the line, but a potential game in the AFC Divisional Round is the prize instead. Buffalo has advanced beyond the Wild Card Round in all but one of head coach Sean McDermott’s appearances in the playoffs, while Denver is making its first appearance in the postseason since they won Super Bowl 50 after the 2015 NFL season.
While each team obviously has its roster set at the moment, we’re still intrigued by the thought of adding some opposing players to Buffalo’s roster. Denver has some under-the-radar talent to go with a few household names, and they have plenty of strong players at positions where Buffalo would be helped tremendously. The Bills are as healthy as they’ve been entering a playoff tournament in recent memory, but that doesn’t mean they couldn’t benefit from adding some extra talent.
Without considering the salary cap, scheme fit, or reality as a whole, we narrowed down a list of three players who we’d like to add to the Bills’ roster from the Broncos’ squad.
WR Courtland Sutton
This guy is good. Sutton has been a top-flight target for the duration of his career, and thanks to periods of subpar quarterback play, his overall numbers aren’t as eye-popping as could be expected of someone with his talent. Sutton leads the Broncos in targets (135), receptions (81), receiving yards (1,081), and receiving touchdowns (8) this year.
All of those numbers would pace the Bills, as well. Sutton is big (6’4” and 216 pounds), strong, and consistent. At 29 years old, he’s having his best season since 2019, and he’s been the clear go-to guy for rookie quarterback Bo Nix.
While Amari Cooper was a strong addition to Buffalo’s wide-receiver group, adding someone like Sutton would make a good unit even better. Lining Sutton and Cooper up outside with Khalil Shakir in the slot would be almost unfair.
DL Zach Allen
I can’t tell you how close I was to going with kicker Will Lutz here, as the thought of adding someone with the leg strength of Tyler Bass but with more consistency is definitely tempting. However, adding a defensive lineman with Allen’s ability to rush the passer is just too tempting.
While the Broncos play a different front than the Bills — Denver uses three down linemen, and Allen plays as what would be called a “five-tech” defensive end on the offensive tackle’s outside shoulder — he would be a fantastic fit as a defensive tackle in Buffalo’s four-man front. He could theoretically pressure the quarterback from either the three-tech spot (Ed Oliver’s main role) or as a defensive end in the 4-3 under package the team has toyed with in recent weeks.
Allen’s really only played in 3-4 alignments in his professional career, but if given the chance to add a defensive lineman with 8.5 sacks and 40 quarterback hits, I’m doing it and figuring out where he plays later. Allen is a gamer who could fit anywhere.
CB Pat Surtain II
A second-generation NFL corner whose father terrorized NFL offenses to the tune of 37 career interceptions across 163 games, it’s possible that Surtain v. 2.0 is even better than the original. Surtain II notched four interceptions and 11 pass breakups this season while returning his four picks for a league-leading 132 yards — a total that was buoyed by a 100-yard interception return for a score against the Las Vegas Raiders in October.
Surtain was just named to his third-straight Pro Bowl, and he allowed a quarterback rating of just 58.9 on passes where he was the nearest defender. Now, imagine pairing him with Christian Benford in the Bills’ secondary?
Good luck trying to throw it anywhere, especially since Buffalo’s nickel corner, Taron Johnson, is among the league’s best, as well. Surtain II would displace Rasul Douglas in the lineup, but it would be well worth it.
With apologies to Douglas, Surtain II is among the best defensive players in football, regardless of position.