Don't Sleep on Bills DE Smoot, Plus Two 2024 Breakout Candidates

On this episode of Talking Buffalo, Patrick Moran is joined in studio by longtime friend and recurring guest Tone Pucks to discuss a potentially effective Bills free agent singing flying under the radar, two potential breakout candidates this season for the Bills in addition to plenty of Buffalo Sabres talk.Chase Claypool was the noticeable name that signed with the Bills late last week, a move that Tone calls out Patrick for his negative overreaction, but the addition of Dawuane Smoot mostly slid the cracks and/or was quickly dismissed by many as non-relevant news. Tone advises that shouldn't be the case, pointing out the structure of his contract shows it's highly likely Smoot's going to be part of this roster and defensive end rotation. The guys talk about that very possibly be a good thing considering Smoot had four consecutive seasons of at least six sacks before being slowed down last year in recovering from a torn achilles. Can Smoot be this year's version of Leonard Floyd?After the Smoot section Patrick gets into two incoming second-year players he may be higher than most; wide receiver Justin Shorter and linebacker Dorian Williams. In the case of Shorter, Brandon Beane's excellent day three draft record is pointed out as well Shorter never getting going last year after a hamstring injury. Williams was a different story---we saw his athleticism immediately but it was apparent that mental gaffes on assignments led him to Sean McDermott's dog house, so much so that he mostly watched from the sidelines as AJ Klein got helplessly torched by Travis Kelce in the playoffs. Patrick feels confident that if Williams grows on the mental side of things in year two that he could carve himself out a significant role in this defense and on this roster, even if not as a starter.They also talk about what the Sabres may do with UPL's next contract, even more Jeff Skinner talk, Tone snubs Patrick's birthday and much more. Follow Tone Pucks on Twitter @TonePucksRedux♦♦♦♦♦Follow Patrick Moran/Talking Buffalo Podcast Substack: Patrick Moran’s SubstackTwitter:  @PatMoranTweets.Facebook: Talking Buffalo Podcast YouTube: Talking Buffalo Podcast YouTube Channel Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.