What Ken Dorsey said is new about the Bills offense
The Buffalo Bills offense experienced some ups and downs during their 2022 campaign and offensive coordinator Ken Dorsey’s first year in that playcalling role.
Dorsey, previously the team’s quarterbacks coach, was promoted to take over the coordinator position following the departure of OC Brian Daboll, who left to become the Giants head coach after a successful run with the Bills.
What’s more, the receiver group was depleted by injuries and their depth at that position ran thin while opponents double-teamed Stefon Diggs.
This offseason, GM Brandon Beane set out to bolster the offense, doing just that at the offensive line, running backs, and receiver positions.
He added TE Dalton Kincaid in the first round of the 2023 NFL Draft and WRs Deonte Harty and Trent Sherfield in free agency to a group that includes Diggs, Dawson Knox, Gabe Davis, and second-year pros James Cook and Khalil Shakir.
These additions create a deeper pool of versatile talents who can play multiple positions in the passing game while creating holes and opportunities against opposing defenses for QB Josh Allen and each other.
Dorsey has noted these differences and spoke to them during training camp this week.
“That’s what we really look for, whether it’s Dalton, whether it’s Harty who we signed, whether it’s Trent Sherfield who we signed, all these guys have the ability to be used in different ways,” Dorsey said to the press. “You look at not only Dalton but a guy like Trent and a guy like Harty, those guys who have both played inside and outside and they’re multiple, they played X, Z, and F, so I think those are always things that you look for so that you’re not handcuffed.”
Beane has made it a point to draft players with multi-positional experience and potential to create versatile options for the Bills offense, even suggesting in his own presser that the slot receiver position could be filled by the committee with the talent they have on the roster.
One of the biggest developments on the offense is the addition of Kincaid, who allows the Bills to play defense-dictating two tight end sets, creating mismatches with his elite potential and skill set. He, along with Sherfield and Harty, gives Buffalo threats in the slot and outside and prevents teams from double-teaming Diggs.
Beane has been looking to add talent to the tight ends group since last offseason to allow Buffalo to run two tight end sets. Those formations require opposing defenses to play different coverage than they normally would on account of the multiple position and skill versatility of Kincade.
Count TE1 Dawson Knox among those who, like Dorsey, see the immediate impact of the versatile rookie.
“When we’re in there at the same time, he plays the F, which is kind of like a slot guy, but you can also bring him in in line,” Knox said to the media. “A little more versatility. I’ll be more in line if we’re both on the field. But at the same time, we like changing it up, where he goes in line, I spread out, and there might be a linebacker coming out to match me. So, it just adds a whole different layer that the defense has to prepare for, and it’s gonna make it hard on the defensive coordinator.”
The team has been running these two tight-end sets frequently during training camp thus far and is seeing some good early returns on their top draft selection.
“He’s already a very natural route runner,” Knox added. “Great feel for the defense, great hands. He’s shifty. He’s got some good speed. So I think his route-running capability is already pretty incredible for being a rookie.”
