ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. -- The feeling of catching a pass from Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen left quite an impression on wide receiver Elijah Moore.
"I couldn't do nothing but just smile at the way that it felt, the way that it just seemingly hit me in the chest," Moore said. "I'm just grateful to be in this position, I'm excited for what's next."
The receiver spent the first four seasons of his career catching passes from a slew of quarterbacks -- 11 to be exact -- after two years with the New York Jets and two with the Cleveland Browns.
The Bills are back on the field for the first OTAs, which gave the newest members of the team an opportunity to become integrated.
Spring practices feature no pads and little contact. But Moore, who signed with the team after the draft, and Joshua Palmer flashed among the wide receivers.
Moore joins a wide receiver room with all levels of experience and a mix of new faces and returners since the departure of Mack Hollins and Amari Cooper, who is still a free agent.
"When I came in, [the other receivers] drove it to me that everybody's different, and every receiver in the room is different in how they play and how they act, but they all embrace each other," Moore said. "That isn't always how it is in other teams. The teams that I were on, we were all tight, but you got the guys that don't want to say nothing.
"Everybody kind of embraces each other here and then getting info from other people around the league that have stopped here, have said that you're going to love it, and that's just always positive to hear."
That vibe extends from seventh-round pick Kaden Prather to Khalil Shakir, who received a four-year contract extension this offseason, to Keon Coleman, who had the task this offseason of improving his strength and overall performance going into his second season. The work by Coleman has been noticed.
"When [Coleman] came back, he was in really good shape," coach Sean McDermott said, noting Coleman's work in drills and in the weight room. "So, real proud of what he's done to this point in the offseason, continuing it now as we get into the three weeks of practice which is important and then on into the summer break."
As OTAs progress, here are other notes on the latest with the Bills:
1. Observing Tuesday's activities, including McDermott's news conference, was minority owner and basketball Hall of Famer Vince Carter. He took an ownership stake in the team during the 2024 season along with others, including Tracy McGrady and Jozy Altidore.
"This is what I choose to do. I don't know if it's my role. I don't have a problem making it my role, but I just want to be an outlet to these guys," Carter said. "... I think the wonderful thing about being an athlete, regardless of what sport you're in, you can have those types of conversations and pull from those experiences. ... I just see me as Vince and can pull from just experiences and different things that I've seen, which other people actually care about, which is pretty cool."
Carter and McGrady spoke with the team's rookies after practice, and Carter also spent time before McDermott's new conference talking with the coach. McDermott said that he'd like to have more of those conversations.
"I wasn't like this when I was younger. My parents would say I wasn't into reading books and this and that. I was going out and playing, right?" McDermott said. "But now the older I've gotten, the more curious I've gotten about life overall, habits like [Carter's] had over the years that make you great. And I think that's good for our team. It's good for the organization. It's great for Buffalo. And why not learn from someone like that?"
2. HBO's "Hard Knocks' is coming to Buffalo for the first time, showcasing the team's training camp.
The show rules were changed this offseason, eliminating the policy that playoff teams from the past two seasons were ineligible to be featured on the show, putting the Bills in a position to be picked.
The reaction from the team was mixed, with some like defensive end Greg Rousseau emphasizing that they will still be "getting the work in" as they normally do at training camp.
Left tackle Dion Dawkins, who said he screamed in excitement when he heard the "Hard Knocks" news, identified tight end Dalton Kincaid as someone who would stand out on the show.
"Dalton's ready," Dawkins said. "... Dalton is just Dalton times 12. You could just feel the kid's getting older and he's getting more mature. But Practice 1, it shows, but you really can't tell anything yet, but he's moving around here with a pep in the step."
Dawkins also noted the opportunity for viewers to see the Bills' culture and the team's many personalities.
McDermott said the team has to stay grounded despite the extra scrutiny.
"The real challenge to us is the authenticity of who we are and building that critical trust that is so important to building a good, healthy relationship among players, among staff, staff and players," McDermott said. "... That glue part is going to be challenged because of ... whether it's a microphone, a camera, in different rooms, in different conversations. But we are who we are. And that authenticity piece must stay intact."
3. Running back James Cook was the only player not part of the voluntary activities, which gave other running backs, such as second-year back Ray Davis, more reps with the first-team offense.
"I've just been enjoying the process," Davis said. "All of us are with the [first-team offense], there's no depth chart right now. There's no No. 1 guy, No. 2 guy. We're all just going in and playing our game and putting our best foot forward as a collective unit. We're getting better."
Davis is part of a running back room that is locked in behind Cook along with receiving back Ty Johnson. Davis is looking to improve the receiving portion of his game, including being on the field during pass protection, running routes and catching passes.
With Cook away from the team for now, as he seeks a new contract, his absence opens the door for the likes of Davis to get more opportunities.