Struggling Bills vet on the bubble headlines three players that need to have a good week against the Steelers

With Preseason Week One behind us , the Buffalo Bills have a huge opportunity ahead of them this week with the Pittsburgh Steelers, partaking in a joint practice on Thursday and their second preseason game on Saturday. For a handful of vets, a big week of competition as they try to secure a spot on the final 53-man roster. One veteran in particular is in desperate need of a good week, or he could find himself on the outside looking in sooner than later.

Let's take a look at three players that need to help themselves out this week.

WR Marquez Valdes-Scantling

I guess one positive for Marquez Valdes-Scantling was that he got a lot of playing time in Preseason Week 1, but that's not always a good thing. Typically, players expected to make the roster don't get, or need, that many looks.

MVS, as he's known, lined up for 22 pass plays, and ran 19 of his 22 routes lined up out wide. That's to be expected – if he does make this team, he's a big body with vertical speed that can stretch opposing defenses.

Now the bad part. On those 22 routes run, he drew only one target, and he dropped it. Drops have been a problem throughout his career, and continued throughout training camp. With the emergence of Tyrell Shavers genuinely pushing him for a roster spot, Valdes-Scantling can't afford to continue the same path he's on as we head towards the joint practice and Preseason Week 2.

RB Ty Johnson

The Bills will likely carry four running backs on their final roster – James Cook is the unquestioned starter , and Reggie Gilliam will make the roster as a full back, leaving two spots open for Ty Johnson, Ray Davis, and Frank Gore Jr.

Davis seems to have the RB2 spot locked up, at this point. He looked great on Saturday, getting involved in the passing game and looking strong in pass protection. That's huge.

"I was excited to see the opportunities he had in pass pro, the opportunities he had in a scramble drill to make a play, you saw the check-down at the end of the two minute drill, him making guys miss – the game's not too big for him" offensive coordinator Joe Brady said of Davis.

If Davis is locked in as the RB2, then Johnson and Gore seem to be competing for a roster spot. Right now, Gore is surging.

"Frank's a football player," Brady said of Gore, with a smile. "Whatever opportunities he gets, he goes and does something with it. He's not going to talk much - you know, we have our running back room, and you've got a bunch of South Florida guys that don't want to talk, they're just all ball. But yeah, I love Frank Gore. You can tell how important it is for him, and he plays with a chip, and the way he runs – he made some plays out of the backfield the other other. those are the things that, I don't care about how the scoreboard looks, it's just seeing how the guys are playing at the end of the game. We understand how important it is to him and see how he's playing. I was really excited about that."

As of right now, I'd still give the slight edge to Johnson, but it sounds like Gore is doing everything the right way and is impressing the coaches. This is worth monitoring.

C Will Clapp

With the addition of draft pick of Sedrick Van Pran-Granger, veteran center Will Clapp is seeing some major competition. Van Pran-Granger saw plenty of action in the first preseason game, and he looked great. He's long, he's incredibly smart, and was a captain at Georgia. He has plenty of talent and intangibles to make him a valuable member of this team.

He's exactly the type of toolsy upside player with tons of compete that McDermott loves, and after a promising first preseason game, I believe he'll  get some reps with the second unit heading into this week. According to PFF's grades, Van Pran-Granger was the second-highest graded player on the entire Bills roster on Saturday. It certainly feels like there's a battle taking place for depth spots across this offensive line.

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Follow along all season for all the latest Buffalo Bills news. You can also find me on X @JonHelmkamp .