Buffalo Bills training camp is in full swing, and their first NFL preseason game against the Indianapolis Colts on Saturday, August 12, is quickly approaching. As the 2023 NFL season nears, several major position battles are brewing in camp, and in these Bills roster battles, some players are stepping up while others are struggling. Here are the three key players (plus an additional key position group and coach) that are underperforming so far.

CB Kaiir Elam

All-Pro cornerback Tre’Davious White is back in Bills training camp for the first time since 2021, and now the big battle ahead of the 2023 NFL season is for the CB2 spot next to him and slot cornerback Taron Johnson. The contenders are 2022 first-round pick Kaiir Elam, 2022 sixth-round pick Christian Benford, and veteran Dane Jackson.

Buffalo would love it if their top pick in 2022 could win the job, but so far, the competition seems to be between Benford and Jackson, with Elam struggling at times in camp.

Reports from Rochester are that Benford and Jackson have both outperformed Elam, despite Elam getting the majority of the first-team reps. He’s specifically struggled against No. 1 wideout Stefon Diggs, which is understandable, but not ideal for a starting CB.

The good news here is that it is still incredibly early, and Elam has the chance to turn things around, and that’s exactly what he seems to be doing. On Thursday, Bills reporter Thad Brown reported, “Today felt like a very big step for Kaiir Elam. He took nearly 100% of the 1st team reps and very good just about all day. Including an INT. He got to do a lot of press man, which suits his physical skills, but was still probably his best camp day yet.”

That’s something the Bills’ front office and coaching staff have to be happy about.

LB Dorian Williams

Another big Bills roster battle ahead of the 2023 NFL season is for the second off-ball linebacker spot to replace Pro Bowler Tremaine Edmunds.

Buffalo held off on drafting a LB until late in the third round this year, a round that had Drew Sanders, Daiyan Henley, Trenton Simpson, and DeMarvion Overshown all go ahead of Tulane’s Dorian Williams.

Williams is a bit undersized for the NFL, but he is speedy and had incredible production in college. If he could step in right away and take Edmunds’ old job, that would be big for the Bills. However, early in Bills training camp, Tyrel Dodson and 2022 third-rounder Terrel Bernard are getting more chances and outperforming the rookie.

This competition is going to go right down to the wire, so we’ll have to watch what happens in Buffalo’s NFL preseason games to see who steps up. But for now, things aren’t looking great for the rookie.

RG Ryan Bates

When a team takes a player at your position in the first two rounds of the draft, you are officially on notice that your job is in jeopardy. That’s what happened to right guard Ryan Bates when the Bills drafted Florida guard O’Cyrus Torrence at pick No. 59.

Bates got the first chance to win the job at Bills training camp, but the rookie is slowly creeping his way into the starting lineup by outperforming the veteran. It’s already gone from a starter and backup battle to an even split in the first week of the NFL preseason, and don’t be surprised if Torrence becomes the starter soon.

There is good news here (at least for Bates) as well.

While Torrence is pushing Bates down the depth chart at guard, he’s actually pushing Greg Mancz worse. The backup center is losing time to Bates, who the team seems to be trying out as the backup center as well. If Bates can back up multiple positions, that would be huge for the Bills’ roster construction, even though Mancz could be out of a job.

The entire offensive line and Ken Dorsey

Speaking of the offensive line, the entire group needs to get their acts together in Bills training camp, and so does offensive coordinator Ken Dorsey.

In the first week of quarterback, Josh Allen — the franchise QB and the difference between the Bills being a Super Bowl contender and a top-10 draft team — has got up limping twice.

The first time was because Dorsey called a trick play where Allen went out to catch a pass, and CB Dane Jackson landed on him, and the second was because the offensive line was getting beat badly, and an O-lineman got pushed back into the signal-caller.

If Dorsey and the line can’t protect the franchise in just a few days of padded practices, it could be a long, stressful season for the Bills Mafia watching Allen lay on the field.