the sharpest outside shooters

[chenyan94]

The Buffalo Bills' 17-year playoff drought is finally over , and Kyle Williams has no time to be sentimental.

The defensive tackle and unquestioned team leader is approaching his 13th season in Buffalo no differently than his previous 12, even though it's Williams' first coming off a playoff appearance.

Whatever memories of unbridled joy he had celebrating the moment with his children and teammates 鈥?including the picture of Williams and center Eric Wood posing arm in arm and shirtless 鈥?after a win at Miami, followed by Cincinnati eliminating Baltimore on a last-minute fourth-down touchdown pass on New Year's Eve have been long packed away.

"I'm really good at compartmentalizing a lot of different things," Williams said. "We're preparing for this year. And really, last year was last year, and we really don't talk about it."

He doesn't miss having to discuss the team's playoff futility after Buffalo ended the longest active playoff drought in North America's four major professional sports, and yet Williams understands there will always be some new concern to address.

"If it's not a drought question, it's another question," he said. "It comes with the territory. It's part of the deal."

There are numerous questions, though Williams' focus of looking ahead reflects that of the franchise's approach under the second-year tandem of coach Sean McDermott and general manager Brandon Beane.

The two spent the offseason continuing a major roster overhaul in a bid to rebuild through youth.

The Bills entered training camp with just 15 players with more than one season of experience in Buffalo.

The most significant change comes at quarterback, a position that has remained unsettled since Hall of Famer Jim Kelly retired following the 1996 season.

Third-year starter Tyrod Taylor was traded to Cleveland, and Beane pinned the team's future on Josh Allen. Putting aside questions of Allen's accuracy issues during his three seasons at Wyoming, Buffalo traded up five spots to choose him seventh overall 鈥?the highest spot in the draft order the Bills have ever selected a quarterback.

Now comes the question of when Allen might be ready to start.

Allen showed signs of being a strong-armed but raw rookie during his first three preseason appearances while failing to separate himself in a three-way quarterback competition rounded out by returning backup Nathan Peterman and free agent addition AJ McCarron.

McDermott has provided no hints regarding who his starter will be when Buffalo opens the regular season at Baltimore on Sept. 9.

Uncertainty at quarterback and the amount of roster turnover opens questions as to whether the Bills might take a step back a year after a 9-7 finish.

Beane refutes the notion of having lowered expectations in what might well be a transitional year in Buffalo.

"We're trying to win harder now than we were a year ago," Beane said. "We've set the standard , and if we drop down, we're pointing back on ourselves. If anything, we've got to try to make it an even higher standard."

Here are some things to know about the Bills.

ROOKIE CLASS

Aside from Allen, the Bills are in a position to potentially have two other rookies earning regular playing time. First-round pick Tremaine Edmunds has already won the starting middle linebacker job. Third-round pick Harrison Phillips will be Williams' primary backup at defensive tackle.

CULTURE CLUB

McDermott revealed how much of an emphasis he placed on improving the Bills' culture upon his arrival last year. McDermott said he noticed how poor a number of the players' habits were while reviewing tape of the team's practices under his predecessor Rex Ryan.

"Culture's always changing, it's always growing, whether you like it or not," he said. "And if you don't manage it, it'll grow up in the form of weeds."

FAN APPRECIATION

The one thing Williams appreciates about the Bills breaking their playoff drought was what it meant to the fans, who no longer have to be reminded about it.

"When they want to watch TV or watch the NFL, that's not what they have to hear every time they turn it on. I think that's the best thing for me," Williams said. "For me, it doesn't really land on my radar. But for them, I'm happy for that."

UH-OH-LINE

The offensive line remains a concern in having to replace two key spots after Wood retired because of a career-ending neck injury and left guard Richie Incognito forced the Bills to release him. Ryan Groy is in the mix for both jobs. He's competing with Russell Bodine at center and Vladimir Ducasse at left guard. The starters gave up five sacks for 39 yards in the first half against Cincinnati on Sunday.

ON THE ROAD AGAIN

The Bills face a daunting schedule in the opening two months. They play five of their first seven games on the road, before returning home to host AFC East rival New England for a Monday night game on Oct. 29.

The Minnesota Timberwolves could have used their draft picks in deals to help clear space under the salary cap for potential free agent additions next month.

They needed some high-ceiling young players just as much.

Opting against any deals , the Timberwolves selected Georgia Tech guard Josh Okogie with the 20th overall pick in the first round of the NBA Draft on Thursday night, targeting a tough-minded player with defensive versatility as a primary asset.

”Nothing presented itself that would be better than actually selecting at 20,” general manager Scott Layden said.

The same went for the 48th overall choice, when Ohio State forward Keita Bates-Diop was still available in the second round. The Big Ten Player of the Year was widely projected as a late first-round pick.

”Having a pick this year was critical for us, just to continue to grow,” coach Tom Thibodeau said. ”We think we have to have a blend, of young players, players that are in the middle and obviously the older veterans. But having those young guys, it’s important for the team, for the growth of the organization.”

Okogie played two seasons for the Yellow Jackets, averaging 16.9 points per game and shooting 43.7 percent from the field. The 6-foot-4, 213-pound Okogie led the Atlantic Coast Conference with an average of 6.8 free throw attempts per game last season, bringing consistent doses of energy and physicality.

Born in Nigeria, Okogie grew up outside of Atlanta. He was third in the ACC in 2017-18 with an average of 1.8 steals per game and also grabbed an average of 6.3 rebounds per game. Okogie’s wingspan was measured at the draft combine this spring at 7 feet and his three-quarters-of-the-court sprint time was just 3.04 seconds.

With a vertical leap of 42 inches that tied Villanova’s Donte DiVincenzo for the highest at the combine , Okogie is capable of guarding multiple positions, an ability treasured by Thibodeau. Toughness is another trait that assuredly attracted Okogie to Thibodeau, conducting his third draft since being hired in Minnesota.

Okogie, who watched the draft with family, friends and teammates in Atlanta, had trouble composing himself when Thibodeau called.

”When he said, `Josh,’ to be honest, I blacked out,” Okogie said. ”I was just like, `This is surreal.’ Everything happened so fast. They called my name. Everybody’s screaming. I’m getting tackled. Crying.”

Depth at the wing positions was a glaring need for the Wolves this offseason, with no backups set yet for Jimmy Butler and Andrew Wiggins. Jamal Crawford and Derrick Rose are set to become free agents.

Perimeter shooting is another priority after Minnesota ranked last in the league with an average of 8.0 made 3-pointers per game. The Wolves were 19th in the NBA with a 3-point shooting percentage of 35.7.

Last year, the Timberwolves used draft night to reshape their roster with a headliner trade for the All-Star Butler that dealt Kris Dunn, Zach LaVine and seventh overall pick Lauri Markkanen to Chicago. The Bulls then sent the 16th overall selection , Justin Patton, to the Wolves. Patton sat out his entire rookie season with a broken foot. Markkanen made the NBA All-Rookie team after averaging 15.2 points per game.

With little space under the cap, the Wolves could’ve used their first-rounder in a package to trade away some veteran salary, but the pick was also important as a way to cheaply add a rotation-caliber player. Thibodeau has long favored experience on the court, skimping on time for young players, but Okogie has shown an ability to make catch-and-shoot 3-pointers from the corner that could supplement his defense enough to warrant time in the rotation.

”I think I can help from day one,” he said.

The Wolves passed on one of the sharpest outside shooters in this draft class, Duke’s Grayson Allen, but took advantage of a rich pool of wing players to snag Bates-Diop, the leading scorer in the Big Ten as a fourth-year senior in 2017-18 at 19.8 points per game. He was limited to nine games as a junior because of a leg injury and took a redshirt for the 2016-17 season. The 6-foot-7, 235-pound Bates-Diop finished his college career as a 47.2 percent shooter from the field.

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