ORCHARD PARK - No one is expecting rookie linebacker Dorian Williams to replicate the All-Pro level of play that Matt Milano has given the Buffalo Bills in the last few years.

Milano is one of a handful of players on the Bills’ roster who are simply irreplaceable. Never mind the fact that he makes so many plays -- just his presence on the field gives opposing offenses pause because they have to account for where he is and adjust accordingly.

Williams does not engender that type of respect, at least not yet. There’s nothing wrong with that, and the worst thing that Williams could do is play outside the structure of the defense, or even his own capabilities, in an effort to bridge the gap between he and Milano.

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“You lose a lot when Matt’s not in and just what he provides for our defense,” assistant head coach Eric Washington said. “His experiences, his skillset, the talent, that’s a significant piece to take out. And what you try and do is take the next person and make sure that person understands how they need to succeed.”

That has been the mission of Washington, head coach Sean McDermott and linebackers coach Bobby Babich since Williams was thrust into the lineup after Milano blew out his knee in London.

Not surprisingly, Williams struggled when he had to come off the bench cold in the first quarter of what became a 25-20 loss to Jacksonville and late in that game, McDermott turned to veteran Tyrel Doson - typically a middle linebacker - and played him in Milano’s spot.

But that did not deter McDermott and the defensive coaching staff from starting Williams last week against the Giants and the third-round pick out of Tulane - with a full week of reps with the first-team defense - showed marked improvement.

“It would be hard to describe him as a first-year player when you watched him go through the week of preparation,” Washington said, clearly impressed by the way Williams studied and practiced. “I’m talking about from Wednesday all the way through the Saturday walk through. He was locked in, focused, he understood the game plan. He understood what we had to do against their offensive schemes. He slid into that role.”

Williams played 58 snaps against the Giants, though none on the final drive. His pass coverage has lagged behind his play against the run so the Bills turned to safety/nickel corner Siran Neal knowing New York would be throwing on virtually every down in its attempt to pull out the victory.

Williams was in on 10 tackles, had a QB hit, and was charted by Pro Football Focus for having four “stops” which are defined as “tackles that constitute a failure for the offense.” In coverage, he gave up three catches on five targets for 36 yards.

“I felt good,” he said following practice Wednesday. “I mean, there’s some things I definitely need to clean up, clean up some of the missed tackles (he had two), some of the run fits. I’m always looking to get better, that’s kind of my focus but we’re on to the next week now and trying to win this game.”

Williams said having the full week of practice certainly made a difference for him against New York, and one of the main tenets that were drilled into him was being able to read his keys and implement what he did on the practice field into the game.

“You got to be able to go out there and see the plays you’re practicing against and have it show up on game day,” he said. “Our coaches did a good job of calming me down, just keeping me on my keys and keeping my eyes where they’re supposed to be.”

The 6-foot-1, 228-pounder has the athleticism to succeed in the NFL; it’s one of the reasons why the Bills spent a third-round pick on him. And he seems to have the football IQ required to become a contributing player, maybe even a very good player.

“He is all about football and very serious in his approach,” McDermott said. “There’s so much he doesn’t know just based on experience alone, like it would be for any of us if we were out there. And so that’ll come through reps. I just love his attitude, the players love playing with him and have great respect for him at a young age because of his style of play. He goes all out.”

Right now, it’s all about learning and trying not to do too much. Part of that eagerness and going all out led to a couple of occasions where he was out of position, but Washington said in time that will improve.

“Was it perfect? No, but was it impactful? Was it physical? It absolutely was,” Washington said. “I think the arrow is really pointing up for him. I’ve not seen a player come in the way that he did, as a rookie, and be as downhill single-minded physical as he was. Obviously there’s some things we have to continue to grow from but very pleased with his approach as he went through the weekend, and will continue to grow from his experiences on Sunday.”

Bills injury report includes Josh Allen

You never want to see an injury report where your starting quarterback - in this case, an invaluable superstar - has any type of designation, but that was the case Wednesday for Allen, albeit in a walk-through practice where no one was going full speed.

Allen hurt his shoulder against the Giants and as expected, the Bills are playing things cautiously. “No concern. We'll be ready to go,” said Allen, who always says he’s fine regardless of what ailment he’s dealing with. “I would put it in the pain management (category) but it’s feeling pretty good.”

The key day will be Thursday when the Bills conduct their first full practice. If Allen is listed as anything but a full participant, red flags will be flapping in the Buffalo breeze right up until game time in New England Sunday.

“We’ve been around each other enough that he’ll communicate if things raise to a certain level,” McDermott said. “Right now it’s a one day at a time approach here.”

Elsewhere, rookie tight end Dalton Kincaid cleared concussion protocol so he’s good to go, as was fellow tight end Dawson Knox who has been bothered by a wrist injury.

One area of concern is at cornerback. Dane Jackson continues to be slowed by a foot injury that forced him to miss the Giants game, and now his replacement, Kaiir Elam, had a foot problem that initially cropped up in training camp return so both he and Jackson were limited. Again, Thursday will be an interesting day for both of them as well.

Sal Maiorana can be reached at maiorana@gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter @salmaiorana and on Threads @salmaiorana1. To subscribe to Sal's newsletter, Bills Blast, which comes out twice a week during the season, please follow this link: https://profile.democratandchronicle.com/newsletters/bills-blast

This article originally appeared on Rochester Democrat and Chronicle: Buffalo Bills: Dorian Williams replaces Matt Milano as linebacker