Grading WR Emmanuel Sanders’ deal with the Bills: A

The Bills added veteran receiver Emmanuel Sanders to augment their four-receiver packages. Here’s why it’s a great deal.

Well, Josh Allen will not lack for slot targets in 2021. Last season for the Saints, Sanders caught 61 passes on 82 targets for 726 yards and five touchdowns in the regular season, adding eight catches on 12 targets for 51 yards in the postseason. He also led the Saints in slot targets with 26, slot catches with 19, slot yards with 184, and slot touchdowns with two. He was also New Orleans’ best deep receiver, catching six passes of 20 or more air yards on nine targets for 211 yards and one touchdown. Not bad for a receiver in an offense where the deep ball was an endangered species.

Now, with Allen as one of the better deep throwers in the league, Sanders adds his quickness off the line and route savvy to offensive coordinator Brian Daboll’s four-receiver packages, and he can go inside and outside when Cole Beasley and the underrated Isaiah McKenzie are also on the field.

Last season, per Sports Info Solutions, only the Cardinals had more dropbacks with four receivers than Buffalo’s 155, and Allen completed 97 of 135 attempts for 1,093 yards, three touchdowns, and two interceptions in those four-receiver packages. Sanders could add to that efficiency, and for $6 million on a one-year deal, it’s easy to see why it makes sense. Sanders isn’t a WR1, but with Stefon Diggs on the team, he doesn’t need to be, and he’s a fine replacement for John Brown, who was released for salary cap reasons.