Bleacher Report power ranked the NFL’s pass catchers for each team and while the Buffalo Bills have a much-improved group from a year ago, their unit slots in at No. 11 overall.
Stefon Diggs joins the Bills and will jump right to the top of this unit. A proven 1,000-yard receiver himself in recent seasons, he pushes fellow 2019 1,000-yard receiver, John Brown, to a No. 2 role while Cole Beasley still sits in the slot among the league’s best there.
But here’s B/R’s breakdown of why the Bills land outside the top-10:
At No. 11, the Buffalo Bills received a huge boost from Stefon Diggs’ arrival, propelling them over the Cincinnati Bengals. Diggs is on the rise while AJ Green trends in the wrong direction because of his recent injuries.
Furthermore, Cole Beasley deserves consideration as one of the top slot receivers in the league, registering 386 receptions for 4,049 yards and 29 touchdowns through eight seasons as a tertiary pass-catching option for most of his career.
With Diggs in the fold, John Brown, who registered career highs in receptions (72) and yards (1,060) during the previous term, projects as a solid No. 2 option.
Tight end Dawson Knox had a decent rookie campaign, snagging 28 grabs for 388 yards and two scores. The unit also has some depth with Tyler Kroft if he’s fully recovered from a broken foot and low ankle sprain that limited his workload to 244 offensive snaps in 2019.
B/R goes on to say the Bills, compared to the Bengals, have less question marks in this area. But what likely keeps the Bills out of the top-10 are their very unproven tight ends. Kroft, as mentioned, has been oft-injured in his career and that’s how his first season with the Bills was a year ago. In Knox, he had a promising rookie season, but he has plenty to improve upon, including problems with drops.
However, there’s some big silver lining here. First, the Bills are the best-ranked pass catchers in the AFC East by B/R. Buffalo edges out the everyone in the division by… a lot. The Dolphins are the next closest… all the way at No. 29. But somehow they’re still ahead of the Patriots (30) and Jets (31). Those three are actually the three-worst ranks receiver rooms in the entire AFC, as the NFC’s Redskins fall in dead-last.
With that same concept in mind on the flip side, the Bills are in 11, but at the fourth-best among AFC teams. Ahead of the Bills are the Chiefs (2), Browns (3) and Chargers (9).
Still, even with these AFC positives, other outlets had the Bills in better standing within the entire league overall. Pro Football Focus among them, who recently ranked the Bills’ receivers the fifth-best in the NFL.
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