Getty Bills quarterback Josh Allen at Highmark Stadium on January 15, 2024.
The Buffalo Bills overhauled their wide receiving corps this offseason, parting with both of their top receivers and replacing them with a top draft pick and a new slate of veterans.
But the revamped wide receiver room could become a big vulnerability in the coming season, one analyst warns. Cody Benjamin of CBS Sports identified the Bills’ wide receiving corps as a potential “red flag” for the season that could hinder Josh Allen and the offense from winning a fifth straight division title and competing for the Super Bowl.
Bills Trading Down at Wide Receiver
For the first time since Josh Allen’s second NFL season in 2019, the Bills go into the coming season without a clear-cut No. 1 receiver. The team traded All-Pro Stefon Diggs to the Houston Texans and allowed No. 2 Gabe Davis to leave in free agency, blowing a major hole in their receiver room.
Benjamin wrote that the replacement squad could be a big downgrade for the Bills.
“In theory, Buffalo has swapped out one bona fide pass catcher (in this case, Stefon Diggs) for a slew of solid role players: a red zone outlet (Keon Coleman), a utility man (Curtis Samuel) and a speedster (Marquez Valdes-Scantling). Is that really a better supporting cast for Josh Allen?” Benjamin wrote.
Bills GM Brandon Beane says that the main reason they traded Stefon Diggs was to clear his ‘albatross’ contract:
“Ultimately, we just talked about the (salary) cap… I don’t need to go through all the reasons why we decided to go ahead and do that….it’s just like that…
The Bills already had a taste of what the offense could look like without a top-of-his-game Diggs. The veteran receiver ended last season on a career-worst slump, going the seven final games without a touchdown catch, the longest scoreless stretch of his career. Diggs also struggled in big moments, dropping a long pass late in the team’s divisional-round loss to the Kansas City Chiefs that would have put the Bills in the red zone.
Bills Have High Hopes for Rookie
While it could be difficult to fully fill the void left by the departures of Diggs and Davis, the team appears high on Coleman. Allen said the rookie will be able to use his significant stature to go up for contested balls, a skill that had previously been lacking in the offense.
“I think his play style (is) what we needed in our offense,” Allen said, via Bleacher Report. “Talking with our offensive coordinator (Joe Brady), our quarterbacks coach (Ronald Curry), (general manager) Brandon Beane and, obviously, coach (Sean) McDermott, a guy that’s a big-bodied guy and can go win one a back-shoulder fade and not afraid to be a physical wide receiver.”
But the Bills have also been warned about the “red flags” surrounding Coleman and his game. Sam Monson of Pro Football Focus warned that he could still have some learning when he reaches the NFL and the team will not be able to lean on him to replace Diggs.
“Coleman is an intriguing prospect, but his profile had a lot of red flags and he would seem to be one of the riskier answers to a team that intends to install him as their X receiver and essentially replace Diggs,” Monson wrote. “Coleman has size and exceptional body control and hands — traits that Diggs possesses — but he doesn’t have the route-running chops or ability to separate against man coverage that Diggs does.”