Here is Bills Wire’s position-by-position breakdown of the team’s roster, continuing with the wide receivers, including the season that was and projecting forward:
The Buffalo Bills wide receiver room improved immensely in 2019. The additions of John Brown and Cole Beasley gave the team a legitimate threat in the aerial attack. The free agent acquisitions provided quarterback Josh Allen with two sorely needed reliable targets to help with the young signal caller’s growth.
Brown came through with a 72-catch; 1,060-yard season with six scores, all career-highs. Beasley, the shifty slot receiver, finished second on the team with 67 catches and 778 receiving yards. He also set a career-high with six touchdown passes.
Beyond this duo, though, the remainder of the aerial attack distribution was thin. Isaiah McKenzie provided a threat of speed, and he was utilized in motion and on sweeps in games. He caught 27 passes for 254 yards and one touchdown receptions while adding eight rushes for 49 yards.
Duke Williams, an intriguing, big-bodied prospect who gave Josh Allen a large target out wide, dressed for only four games. In his limited time on the field, he did bring fans to their feet. However, he also struggled with some issues of consistently catching the ball.
Most of the contributions of Robert Foster and Andre Roberts were on special teams. Foster was used primarily on the coverage unit, while Roberts provided a spark in the return game, earning a Pro Bowl nod there. Foster, unfortunately, could not replicate his break out performances from last year, catching only three passes on the season. Roberts averaged 26.6 yards per kick return.
Let us not forget Zay Jones, who was traded after playing five games for the Bills. he caught only 7-of-18 targets.
Contract situation
Brown is under contract through the 2021 season after signing a three-year, $21 million contract this past offseason. Beasley will be in the fold a year longer, as he signed a four-year $29 million contract.
Roberts and Williams enter the final year of their respective contracts. Roberts will be the primary returner, as he has a reasonable $2 million cap hit.
McKenzie is a restricted free agent, while Foster is under exclusive-rights free agent status, so he’ll be back with the Bills, or else’ by rule, will sit out a season, essentially. Buffalo will have the first crack at re-signing these players in the offseason.
The future
Brown and Beasley are set in stone for the upcoming season. The duo combined for 139 receptions, and the Bills will do anything to upset the chemistry that the pair has made with Allen.
Roberts will come back as the primary returner for the team. He is a threat every time he touches the ball, so his presence is important in the special teams game.
While Williams, McKenzie, and Foster have flashed some promise in the past, there is no doubt that this group could use another game-breaking player.
McKenzie was an effective player who fit into several schemes on offense. However, the Bills could look to Roberts to fill the role that McKenzie occupied. It’s a speculatory option at this point.
Williams, for his part, gives Buffalo a physical receiver on the boundary. However, the team still sees that former CFL star has a little ways to go, as he dressed for only five games (including the playoff game). Williams’ playoff game participation ahead of Foster may give an indication into the Alabama product’s future on the roster.
Even with the improvement in the group this year, expect Buffalo’s brass to try and find another piece to upgrade this unit in the offseason.
The question is, could that be in free agency via another vet like AJ Green? Or this year’s draft class contains several wide receivers who could support the Bills’ need for an explosive player out wide. Players such as CeeDee Lamb, Laviska Shenault and Tee Higgins are just a few prospects that could be on Buffalo’s radar with their first-round pick at No. 22.
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