Bills’ Josh Allen: O’Cyrus Torrence ‘is going to be good for us for a long time’
The Buffalo Bills won their final preseason outing 24-12 over the Chicago Bears on Saturday and now will turn their focus to the regular season opener where they will face the Jets in New Jersey.
The coaching staff will be tasked with naming their starters to open the 2023 campaign, and one of their offensive starters might be a rookie.
Bills 2023 NFL Draft selection O’Cyrus Torrence, that is.
The guard has seen time with the offensive starters and was part of a 12-play, 72-yard opening scoring drive against Chicago. And his play has caught the attention of his quarterback.
“At right guard, he controls the silent snap, so he’s looking back and making sure we’re getting that going,” Bills QB Josh Allen explained during his press session. “I think that’s a big responsibility, and as a rookie, he hasn’t flinched at all with it. Communication-wise, with that first line, he’s been doing a good job.”
Torrence’s communication has been succinct and to the point at the line, and he’s made a fairly smooth transition from the college ranks to his first pro training camp. And it could land him in a starting role with the team.
“He doesn’t really speak a lot,” Allen added. “Guys don’t really hear his voice, but he communicates really well with the offensive line. He’s so focused on doing his job, and it’s awesome to see that coming from a guy that’s so young. He’s going to be good for us for a long time.”
Buffalo drafted the 23-year-old at 59th overall in the second round, though he was projected by many pre-draft analysts both to be a first-round selection and for Buffalo to take him. While the Bills would draft top tight end Dalton Kincaid in that first round, they went on to select Torrence as well.
The offense line has been identified as an area of weakness for Buffalo in recent seasons, and Torrence was one of the big off-season additions to strengthen the Bills front in the trenches.
Early returns on the offensive lineman have been good ahead of the 2023 regular season, and his head coach has been among those who have taken notice.
“He’s done a nice job,” McDermott said via video conference. “He’s handled things well, everything that’s come at him at this point as a young player in the NFL. He’s done some real nice things handling most of it and what he hasn’t handled he works extremely hard to come back and get it the next day, so he’s been very mature in his approach.”
