To upgrade at guard or not to upgrade at guard—that is the question for an excellent offensive line group
The Buffalo Bills put together one of the league’s top offensive lines this season. In terms of protecting the quarterback, they were elite, allowing just 14 sacks throughout the regular season. Part of that might be a result of blocking for a modern-day Houdini, as quarterback Josh Allen is exceptionally adept at avoiding pressure. However, the protection squad did its job.
In the run game, Buffalo’s line was excellent, as well. The Bills averaged 4.5 yards per carry throughout the regular season, and lead back James Cook reached the 1,000-yard plateau for the second straight year. In the playoffs, the Bills ran the ball almost at will, gaining 504 yards on 112 attempts to maintain that 4.5 yards per carry average. They did that against some of the league’s best run defenses.
In the final game of the season, however, one glaring issue came up over and over again: the inability to complete a tush-push play that had been successful over 95% of the time. Each time the Bills run that play, quarterback Josh Allen tries to sneak over left guard. The Kansas City Chiefs were able to stuff it three of the five times Buffalo ran it.
Does this mean the Bills need an upgrade up front? Or does it mean that they need to spice it up once in a while and consider going right just one time? In today’s continuation of our look at the state of the Buffalo Bills roster, we discuss the interior offensive linemen.
Alec Anderson
Contract Status for 2025: Signed his exclusive-rights free agent (ERFA)
Age: 25 (26 on 10/3/2025)
Playing Time: 17 games (4 starts), 143 special teams snaps (32.06% of team total), 291 offensive snaps (26.75% of team total)
Key Statistics: 6 penalties, 0 sacks allowed
It’s wild, but Anderson played more snaps offensively this season than Quinton Morris and Reggie Gilliam. The Bills love running a six-offensive lineman look, and Anderson was their guy. It was curious late in the season how he was called for multiple penalties—one in the finale against the New England Patriots and then two more in the AFC Championship Game against the Chiefs—where he supposedly didn’t report as eligible. Given how often the Bills ran out of a six-man front, one would assume that he knew how the procedure needed to go. I assume that Anderson will continue in his role as the sixth man up front.
Will Clapp
Contract Status for 2025: Unsigned; UFA
Age: 29 (30 on 12/10/2025)
Playing Time: 1 game (1 start), 67 offensive snaps (6.16% of team total), 3 special teams snaps (.67% of team total)
Key Statistics: N/A
Clapp was a healthy scratch for much of the year when he was on the 53-man roster, and after he was released and signed to the practice squad, he did not play until the end of the season. Buffalo called him up to start the season finale, and then they trusted him to be the reserve interior lineman in the playoffs over the rookie Van Pran-Granger. That made sense this season, but I imagine that the Bills will likely let Clapp move on and expect Van Pran-Granger to take the reserve center role next season.
David Edwards
Contract Status for 2025: Signed; final year of two-year, $6 million contract ($4.905 million cap hit; $875,000 dead cap hit if released; 1.78% of total team cap)
Age: 27 (28 on 3/20/2025)
Playing Time: 16 games (16 starts), 977 offensive snaps (89.8% of team total), 90 special teams snaps (20.18% of team total)
Key Statistics: 6 penalties, 0 sacks allowed
Edwards did a nice job this season, as he moved into a larger role and was a consistent performer up front. He was the sixth lineman last year, but after Mitch Morse was released and Connor McGovern slid over to center, he became a full-time starter this season. Edwards was the player who led the way on all of quarterback Josh Allen’s QB sneaks, something that needs to be re-evaluated for the predictability, but it was successful 30-of-32 times before the AFC Championship Game. Edwards is a good athlete who is solid in pass protection and good on the move in the run game.
Mike Edwards
Contract Status for 2025: Signed reserve/future contract worth $1,853,500 over two years ($844,250 cap hit; $8,500 dead cap charge if released; .31% of total team cap)
Age: 26 (27 on 11/10/2025)
Playing Time: N/A
Key Statistics: N/A
Edwards is a large man (6’5” 363 pounds) who spent the season on the practice squad. Unless he takes a big leap forward, the practice squad is likely where he’ll be competing to remain next season.
Connor McGovern
Contract Status for 2025: Signed; final year of three-year contract ($9.385 million cap hit; $7.74 million dead cap if released; 3.41% of total team cap)
Age: 27 (28 on 11/3/2025)
Playing Time: 16 games (16 starts), 961 offensive snaps (88.33% of team total)
Key Statistics: 3 penalties, 0 sacks allowed
McGovern slid over to center after playing left guard for the Bills in 2023, and he acquitted himself quite well throughout the season. Mitch Morse was obviously a valuable member of the offensive line, but McGovern’s presence mitigated that loss completely. For his efforts, he was added to the Pro Bowl roster, which was his first Pro Bowl nod in his career. McGovern is a plus-athlete who also can anchor against bigger defensive tackles. He’s a great fit up front.
O’Cyrus Torrence
Contract Status for 2025: Signed; third year of four-year rookie contract worth $6,220,978 overall ($1,696,630 cap hit; $762,174 dead cap hit if released; .62% total team cap)
Age: 25 (26 on 1/20/2026)
Playing Time: 17 games (16 starts), 1,013 offensive snaps (93.11% of team total), 93 special teams snaps (20.85% of team total)
Key Statistics: 7 penalties, 0 sacks allowed
Torrence has been a strange find for the Bills. Given his physicality and his NCAA profile, many assumed that he’d be a mauler in the run game who sometimes struggled in pass protection. And yet, he has graded out as a much better pass blocker than he has run blocker in his two years in the NFL, at least according to Pro Football Focus. Torrence was graded as the Bills’ worst offensive lineman, earning a 55.5 overall. That low score doesn’t really match the eye test, as I’d argue that it was Edwards who would be the “weaker” of the two guards. However, both players were quite good, as evidenced by the Bills’ success on offense as a whole.
Sedrick Van Pran-Granger
Contract Status for 2025: Signed; second year of four-year rookie contract worth $4,375,252 overall ($1,048,813 cap hit; $266,439 dead cap hit if released; .38% of total team cap)
Age: 23 (24 on 10/23/2025)
Playing Time: 16 games (1 start), 74 special teams snaps (16.59% of team total), 120 offensive snaps (11.03% of team total)
Key Statistics: N/A
The rookie had limited chances to play, but he did see some action in his first season. That bodes well for the future. If the Bills can’t re-sign McGovern to a contract that makes sense, they’d be okay holding a competition between Alec Anderson and Van Pran-Granger for the right to be the starting center for the 2026 season. SVPG was a good player at Georgia, and with a whole year under his belt plus the second time through a professional strength and conditioning program, he’s likely to improve further this offseason.
Buffalo could stand pat here and be just fine. The unit worked quite well together, and even though the season’s final offensive play was a protection nightmare, that was due to a great disguise and a misread by the quarterback more so than it was a breakdown along the offensive line.
If the Bills were going to upgrade a position, left guard would be it. Edwards is a good player, but he’s the more expensive option among the team’s two guards and he also wasn’t a draft choice of the current regime. He’s higher graded than his counterpart at right guard, Torrence, per Pro Football Focus, and there’s an argument to be made that he’s a more consistent player overall than Torrence. However, I can’t see the Bills replacing their 2023 second-round pick in the starting lineup any time soon.
Truthfully, I don’t think I’d look to replace any of the three starters here. The Bills could sign Edwards to a two-year extension that kicks some of his 2025 cap number down the road a bit, which would be a smarter decision than flat-out releasing a good player just to save $4 million in cap space. I’ve seen draft websites indicate that Buffalo needs to select an offensive center, but I disagree, as Van Pran-Granger is a solid player behind another solid player in McGovern. Alec Anderson also played at center this season and performed well.
The Bills could absolutely look to add another young player here in the late rounds of the draft or via the undrafted free agent route. Someone like Iowa’s Nick DeJong, who has experience all along the front-five, would fit Buffalo’s modus operandi for their reserve linemen quite well, as they look for versatile players who can play multiple positions.
The Bills don’t need a significant investment here, but adding a player or two for depth can’t hurt.