Now that the initial free agency frenzy is behind us, it’s a good time to take a look at where the Buffalo Bills’ roster stands, and which areas still need to be addressed in the coming weeks and months.

Given the bloated salary cap he was dealing with, general manager Brandon Beane and the financial gurus at One Bills Drive did a very nice job of creating enough space to make several meaningful moves last week, and there’s still enough available to continue adding to the periphery of the roster, a total that was increased on Monday when the Bills created cap space by extending the contract of nickel cornerback Taron Johnson.

Before the Bills do anything else, you can make the case that there are only two positions where a clear-cut starter is not already in place.

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With the release of center Mitch Morse, the scuttlebutt is that left guard Connor McGovern is going to slide over to replace him, so that leaves his left guard spot in a bit of flux. The Bills re-signed David Edwards, a player with 45 career starts under his belt with the Rams as he heads into his sixth NFL season, and someone who is clearly a favorite of offensive line coach Aaron Kromer as they were together for a couple years in Los Angeles.

Still, Edwards won’t be handed that job and young Alec Anderson, who the Bills kept on their 53-man roster for the entire 2023 season, will get a chance to compete as well as some yet to be determined players.

The other spot is safety where Jordan Poyer has already bolted to rival Miami, and Micah Hyde, though nothing has been determined, most likely won’t return. The Bills brought back Taylor Rapp who figures to be Hyde’s replacement, but they still have to find someone to take over for Poyer. Yes, they also re-signed Cam Lewis, but he’s a Swiss Army knife player who can play several positions capably, but isn’t starter material.

If the Bills had to line up and play tomorrow, here’s what the starting groups would look like:

On offense it would be QB Josh Allen; RB James Cook; WRs Stefon Diggs, Curtis Samuel and Khalil Shakir; TE Dalton Kincaid; and offensive linemen Dion Dawkins (LT), David Edwards or Alec Anderson (LG), Connor McGovern ( C), O’Cyrus Torrence (RG), and Spencer Brown (RT).

On defense you’d have DEs Greg Rousseau and Von Miller or A.J. Epenesa; DTs Ed Oliver and DaQuan Jones; LBs Matt Milano and Terrel Bernard; CBs Rasul Douglas, Christian Benford and Taron Johnson; and safeties Taylor Rapp and Cam Lewis or Damar Hamlin.

Now it’s all about determining those last two starters and building the depth which has certainly taken a hit with the departures of RBs Latavius Murray, Nyheim Hines and Damien Harris; WRs Gabe Davis, Deonte Harty and Trent Sherfield; offensive linemen Morse and Ryan Bates; defensive linemen Leonard Floyd, Tim Settle, Poona Ford, Shaq Lawson, Jordan Phillips and Linval Joseph; LBs Tyrel Dodson and Tyler Matakevich; and DBs Poyer, Hyde, Tre’Davious White, Siran Neal and Dane Jackson.

What does the Bills offense still need?

Wide receiver is still a spot Beane needs to fortify. Signing Samuel was a solid move because he immediately fills the void left behind by Davis’ departure. Samuel is heading into his eighth NFL season and for the first time in his career he’s going to be playing with an elite quarterback while also surrounded by other productive players in a legitimate top five offense so it will be interesting to see what he does.

Offensive coordinator Joe Brady had Samuel for one season in 2020 when he was the OC in Carolina and that happened to be Samuel’s best as he caught 77 passes for 851 yards and three TDs with Teddy Bridgewater throwing him the ball.

“I was super excited when the opportunity came, having some experience with Joe Brady in Carolina definitely influenced me a lot,” Samuel said of signing with Buffalo. “And from the outside looking in, great team, you can tell they have that family bond, great coaching staff, great organization as a whole. You’ve seen the team, you see how good they are. You know, why not? That’s the question, why not come here?”

Samuel, Diggs and Shakir could be a dynamic threesome, and signing free agent Mack Hollins adds to the depth, plus gives the Bills a big-bodied receiver at 6-foot-4 and 221 pounds. If 2023 fifth-round pick Justin Shorter, who missed his entire rookie season with a foot injury, turns out to be useful, the Bills are in good shape for 2024, but that doesn’t mean they shouldn’t draft a receiver.

Down the road, there is plenty to think about. Shorter may end up being nothing more than a special teams player, same for Hollins who is on a one-year contract. Diggs is turning 31 and it’s possible that the Bills could move on from him after 2024 or 2025 (despite a heavy dead cap hit), and Shakir can be a free agent after 2025.

Samuel and Hollins perhaps lessen the first-round need, but the Bills should absolutely take a receiver in the second round because giving Allen as many weapons as possible should be a priority.

If they wait until then, there are so many who would be immediate contributors including Florida State’s Keon Coleman, South Carolina’s Xavier Legette, Michigan’s Roman Wilson and Washington’s La’Lynn Polk.

At running back, Ty Johnson’s return helps, but he and Cook are the only two under contract. Signing another veteran free agent on a low-cost one-year deal and taking one on day three of the draft should be the path to fill out the depth chart.

And then on the offensive line, depth is a concern. They should probably explore drafting a tackle because Brown will be eligible for free agency after 2024 and Buffalo has highly questionable backups in unproven Tommy Doyle and Ryan Van Demark. On the interior, a name to watch who makes a lot of sense as a free agent is 28-year-old Brian Allen, another former Ram with ties to Kromer who has 32 career starts as a center and could be used as a depth player at guard.

What does the Bills defense need?

Beane did well to bring back Jones and Epenesa, two players who easily could have moved on in free agency. Jones solidifies the middle of the line and when he and Oliver played together they were an outstanding duo. But that’s all the Bills have right now, unless you believe Eli Ankou can become a fixture in the rotation.

It’s possible that Beane could re-sign former Bills like Lawson and Phillips, but that doesn’t really improve the situation and reeks of running it back with familiarity which should not be a consideration. The Bills brought in 29-year-old Sebastian Joseph-Dey for a visit last week, but he signed a one-year deal with the Titans on Tuesday. The man he may replace is Teair Tart, a 27-year-old 305-pounder who is still out there, as is 25-year-old 295-pounder James Lynch of the Vikings, two possible options who wouldn’t break the bank.

Depending how that shakes out, interior defensive line could definitely be where Beane goes in the first round of the draft. The Bills need a young, cost-effective stud in the middle, especially given that Jones is 32 and his contract is escapable after 2024 if there’s a dip in his performance.

Illinois’ Jer’Zhan Newton and Texas’ T’Vondre Sweat might be sitting there at No. 28, and if they wait, Kris Jenkins of Michigan or Braden Fiske of Florida State could be second-round possibilities.

On the edge, who knows whether Miller has anything left. The Bills sure hope he won’t be a ghost like he was all of 2023, but his replacement needs to be drafted. Rousseau will likely get the fifth-year option so he’ll be here through 2025, but Epenesa signed a two-year deal with a reasonable escape after 2024. They need a long-term answer and that’s probably not going to come in the expensive edge rusher free agent market.

In the first round, Penn State’s Chop Robinson and Missouri’s Darius Robinson could be available while in the second round, Alabama’s Chris Braswell, Penn State’s Adisa Isaac, and Washington’s Bralen Trice might be options.

Signing free agent Nicholas Morrow effectively replaces Dodson at backup linebacker, and Dorian Williams and Baylon Spector are fine as depth pieces.

And then in the secondary, safety is the primary need, but you can never ignore cornerback.

The big swing at safety would be signing someone like Justin Simmons, but that will probably cost too much on this year’s cap which is why the Bills reportedly brought in 25-year-old former Colt Julian Blackmon (46 career starts, 7 interceptions) for a free agent visit Monday. Other options include 28-year-old former Ram John Johnson (88 starts, 14 interceptions), 27-year-old former Chief Mike Edwards (28 starts, 8 interceptions), and 28-year-old former Bengal Nick Scott (27 starts, 4 interceptions).

In the draft, the Bills didn’t get the expected third-round compensatory pick, it wound up being a fourth-rounder so they now have picks 127 and 133. It’s possible players like Georgia’s Javon Bullard or Utah’s Cole Bishop are gone by then, but if Beane covets a safety and feels the need to move into the third round, he has some draft capital at his disposal with 11 total picks.

As for cornerback, Douglas can be a free agent after 2024, Benford is eligible after 2025, same as Kaiir Elam if the Bills don’t exercise his fifth-year option which, at least right now, seems quite possible.

Spending on a free agent doesn’t make sense because they’re set this season, so again, the draft is the way to add depth. NFL Network analyst Daniel Jeremiah said he had around 14 or 15 corners with grades in the top three rounds, but getting one in the fourth round or later is something the Bills have excelled at.

Benford was a sixth-round pick, Jackson a seventh-rounder, and if you remember, Levi Wallace was an undrafted free agent. The Bills’ coaching staff has done a great job developing corners, so there will be options.

Sal Maiorana can be reached at maiorana@gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter @salmaiorana. To subscribe to Sal's newsletter, Bills Blast, which comes out each Friday during the offseason, please follow this link: https://profile.democratandchronicle.com/newsletters/bills-blast

This article originally appeared on Rochester Democrat and Chronicle: Buffalo Bills roster needs after Taron Johnson's contract extension