Analyzing Bills OL O’Cyrus Torrence’s Stellar Rookie Season

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O’Cyrus Torrence had a breakout rookie season for the Buffalo Bills at right guard. Torrence came into the NFL with a massive frame, good strength and very high upside as a prospect. Selected in the second round of the 2023 NFL Draft, the former Florida Gator was a surprise pick as few draft analysts expected him to still be available at the 59th pick.

While Torrence showed room for improvement, the rookie manned the Bills’ right guard spot for every snap, which was the best offensive line performance of Josh Allen’s career. The Bills’ offensive line finished in the top 10 in the following categories (rankings, source):

Torrence’s consistency and reliability have been a big part of the Bills’ stability and performance against Allen, and his future looks very bright after such a promising first year.

Related: Underrated WR considered Bills’ ‘biggest breakout’ candidate in 2024

Torrence conducted an exclusive interview and film review session on Cover 1 Movie room with Erik Turner and Anthony Prohaska in which they dove into Torrence’s rookie game. There were a number of highlightsincluding a discussion of how play types and mobile quarterbacks influence how offensive linemen block.

Detailing his play against the Philadelphia Eagles, particularly against their dominant defensive tackle Jalen Carter, Torrence explained how a play designed to be a quick pass influenced how he blocked the Eagles’ defensive lineman.

Knowing that the play was intended to be a quick pass, Torrence knew before the snap that he was going to try to engage Carter early on the down and avoid letting him gain any speed or momentum. Typically, an offensive lineman, especially a tackle, will drop back into a pass-blocking position, but the most likely disruption on a quick pass would come from immediate inside pressure, so Torrence knew he had to get Carter under control as quickly as possible.

The fast-paced concept also changed his footwork. To lock on to Carter early in the play, Torrence stayed in a flat stance and limited the amount and size of steps he took back after hitting Carter. He says, “I might have taken a good-sized step back to kill his momentum.”

Related: Bills star Josh Allen is recognized as one of the best QBs in the NFL

Torrence’s play also influenced the game. Instead of trying to keep Carter at bay or push him away, Torrence “tightened” his hands on Carter quickly. The idea was to get his hands inside Carter in order to stay in front of him and direct him as much as possible. In the clip, you can also see Torrence unbalancing Carter with significant core strength. Generating this imbalance degrades Carter’s strength and speed in his pass rush.

Making sure the blocking techniques he used aligned with the play design is a crucial aspect of coaching and execution, and offensive line coach Aaron Kromer and Torrence were both willing to give Allen all the time he needed on this play against a future All-Pro.

Allen is known for often creating the time he needs in a play. The quarterback is a chaos machine, designed by a Golden Retriever and built by mischievous angels, and that can make his style of play a particular demon for an offensive lineman’s mental well-being.

Think about all the careful planning that Coach Kromer and Torrence put into the relatively standard quick pass play mentioned above. In an instant, Allen will take your planning, chop it up with an axe, throw it in a blender, take a sip, pour the rest down the sink, and give you a charming smile as he walks away.

That’s a fancy way of saying that Allen has a dynamic ability to extend plays, which forces the offensive line to play outside of structure. You’ve probably heard of wide receivers doing scramble drills. The scramble drill is less of a play and more of a set of guidelines for receivers to follow during a broken play. Linemen have a similar set of guidelines for QBs with extraordinary mobility.

One of those principles can be seen in the clip below. Allen, Torrence, and the Bills face Dexter Lawrence and the New York Giants. Lawrence (97) is one of the best defensive tackles in the NFL, and Torrence does his best to stay in front of him on this dropback attempt.

Torrence focuses on Lawrence and initially tries to bring him upfield in the traditional manner. Lawrence is strong enough to unbalance Torrence with his arm and underattack him, reducing the depth of the pocket and charging toward Allen. This is where one of the principles of protection becomes evident.

In his Cover 1 interview, Torrence explains how Coach Kromer is comfortable with his linemen recovering with a 60/40 technique. In this case, 60/40 refers to the half-man relationship each lineman has with the defender they are responsible for. A direct confrontation would be labeled 50/50, so 60/40 means being off-center to the defender. As a recovery technique—reestablishing the block after losing control—60/40 is typically a leverage move that pushes the defender in the direction he was going but beyond his target, using his momentum against him.

Kromer is comfortable with this technique because Allen has elite size, strength, and mobility. While it’s not ideal, using that leverage in this manner in combination with Allen’s evasiveness could mean the game isn’t a total loss. As Torrence says on Cover 1, Kromer is fine with 60/40 because Allen is likely going to run through that hole, and he’s used to it after playing in front of Anthony Richardson at Florida.

After Lawrence begins to cut inside, Torrence uses Lawrence’s own leverage and momentum to push him just past Allen, who then rushes in and completes a preposterous throw to Quintin Morris for a TD.

Every football fan knows that the work in the trenches is fundamental to a team’s success, but few take the time to see the nuances and subtleties described by Torrence, which allow for an even deeper appreciation of the game.

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