Bills wide receiver Isaiah McKenzie has a big day ahead of him on Sunday.
After all, it is the “Isaiah McKenzie revenge game.”
The Bills claimed McKenzie, 24, off of waivers last year when the Broncos cut him. Over the past few weeks, he’s getting his best opportunity in the NFL to date.
After he was a healthy scratch against the Eagles, he’s now evolved into the Bills’ No. 3 wideout behind John Brown and Cole Beasley. It’s not there yet in terms of statistics, but the snaps certainly are.
He played in a season-high 78 percent of snaps on offense for the Bills last week. Despite all that playing time, he told the Buffalo News this week that he’s not going to let all that game action get to his head. He knows he has to keep improving.
“In Denver I didn’t play much receiver. So when I got here they gave me an opportunity. They gave me little plays here and there. But now I’m in the flow of the offense. I feel like each and every week I’m getting better running routes on the outside,” McKenzie said.
“I want to show I can make the big catch when Josh (Allen) throws it to me,” McKenzie added. “If I want more, I have to show them I can run routes, I can block”
McKenzie will certainly be motivated this week, but his lack of numbers should motivate him, too. Snap counts are great, but McKenzie only had three catches for 21 yards last week against the Dolphins. He did have one 16-yard grab which helped set up a score, but McKenzie himself will admit he wants a higher bar set for him.
Setting that bar is offensive coordinator Brian Daboll, who’s made use of McKenzie in jet-sweep situations, using McKenzie’s explosiveness as a rusher. But whether or not McKenzie see another high-tick of snaps next week will depend on Daboll’s gameplan as the Broncos visit western New York.
If he does, that’ll be a lot of faith the coordinator is placing in Allen, who’s struggled against better defensive units this year. Denver sports the fourth-best defense in the NFL to this point.
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