Bills happy to greet new faces on defense

Like a kid at Christmas, Buffalo Bills defensive coordinator Perry Fewell was thrilled with the new toys he received this offseason.
Now he can hardly wait to see if they all work.
“On paper, I like them and non pads I really like them,” Fewell said of free agent additions Marcus Stroud, Spencer Johnson and Kawika Mitchell as well as selections in a defensive-oriented draft led by first-round pick Leodis McKelvin. “But we haven’t played a game yet. We still have to see how everything fits together.”
The Bills hope their porous run defense will get better by getting bigger. Stroud and Mitchell were important acquisitions in that regard because they have the size and strength to make the front seven more stout than it has been in years.
The 6-foot-6, 310-pound Stroud is looking to rebound from a couple of injury-plagued seasons in Jacksonville. The Bills are hoping he returns to the gap-plugging and disruptive force he was during several Pro Bowl seasons with the Jaguars.
Mitchell is an upgrade in terms of size (6-1, 253) and experience at weak-side linebacker. The sixth-year veteran has 66 career starts and was a standout for the Super Bowl champion New York Giants last year.
“Mitchell brings a certain element of physical toughness, and he does some things technique-wise that we really like and we can learn from,” Fewell said. “Marcus is the same thing. I’ve been pleased with what he’s been doing. I like their physicalness, their mentality. They are tough-minded guys, they are no-nonsense guys. I think that helps our young guys.”
Who lines up next to Stroud at tackle will be a story line to follow in training camp. It was assumed John McCargo would step in after Larry Tripplett was released. But Kyle Williams goes into training camp as the man to beat.