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TBN: Why the Bills Have Become a Wide Receiver Wasteland


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Every NFL team has someone who can be considered a No. 1 wide receiver. How that’s defined – whether by number of targets, catches or yards – is subjective.

But not every team has a true No. 1 receiver – a game-changing player defensive coordinators wake up in a cold sweat thinking about – and that includes the Buffalo Bills. Kelvin Benjamin certainly wasn’t it, and Sammy Watkins failed before him, too.


In four of the past five years, the Bills’ leading receiver – at least in terms of catches – hasn’t even been a wide receiver. In that span, the Bills have ranked 20th or worse in total production among wide receivers.

 

The last three years have been particularly bad. According to the analytics website Pro Football Focus, Bills receivers have ranked last in the league in catches for three consecutive seasons. In 2016, Bills receivers had 146 catches, were 28th in yards with 2,107 and tied for 24th with 11 touchdowns. Last season, they were last in catches (115) and yards (1,474), and tied for 27th with nine touchdowns. This year, they are again last in catches (116), 30th in yards (1,560) and tied for last in touchdowns (seven).

 

So a No. 1 receiver is on the offseason wish list. But how does General Manager Brandon Beane define what the Bills need?


“This is going to sound funny, but we don't sit there and say, ‘this is a No. 1 receiver,’ ” Beane said in an interview with The Buffalo News. “There are some elite, elite guys, but where do you draw the line of who's a true No. 1? Julio Jones, A.J. Green, Odell Beckham, Antonio Brown, those guys obviously are it.

 

“A lot of teams have good receivers, but are they a true No. 1? Look at the Rams. Their offense is really good. Do they have a No. 1? I look at it as, there's very few guys in that elite category that just take over games. I'm looking for good players, good receivers, and we'll take as many of them as you can get.”

 

Other offensive positions aren’t numbered the way receivers are. Elite running backs and tight ends are rarely referred to as the No. 1 at their position. The idea of a No. 1 receiver is driven more by media and fans than it is something teams concern themselves with. Ask Bill Belichick to identify the Patriots’ No. 1 receiver and he’ll likely mumble something about the ball going to whoever is open.


"When we talk about it with our scouts, I don’t ask them, ‘Is this a No. 1?’ It’s more, ‘What did he play in college? How do you project him in the pros?’ ” Beane said.

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3 minutes ago, SoCal Deek said:

Why are the Bills a WR wasteland? Maybe because they’re last QB refused to throw the ball and they’re current QB is a super raw rookie behind a crappy OL. Was it that hard to figure out? I think not!

 

FIFY.

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41 minutes ago, Thriftygamer83 said:

Think Stevie would ever come back and play for us?  That would be interesting to see what he could do.  

I will tell you straight right now. This is a big NO. Stevie is all about family right now and that is what he is concentrating on. There is no way in heck he would ever return to football. period.

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40 minutes ago, Thriftygamer83 said:

Think Stevie would ever come back and play for us?  That would be interesting to see what he could do.  

 

Stevie only worked with a very, very intelligent, experienced QB because he would adjust his route using so many factors most QBs could not adjust to but him and Fritz got on same page when both were backups.  

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25 minutes ago, SoCal Deek said:

Why are the Bills a WR wasteland? Maybe because they’re last QB refused to throw the ball and they’re current QB is a super raw rookie. Was it that hard to figure out? I think not!

Amazing how bad the last QB was that people still think wasnt the problem. It couldn't be anymore in your face and proven the last QB was the issue.

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This is why the last 3 games are so important.  Sure they're meaningless from a playoff standpoint but they represent a chance for Allen & his receivers to get on the same page, make some big plays and ultimately learn to trust each other.  For the WR's these next 3 weeks are critical as they have an unprecedented opportunity to show that they belong on the field next year.  A good climax to the season would then be followed up by a great off season workout program between Allen and whichever of these WR's wants a long NFL career.

 

As for the TE's, I'm not sure we can salvage any of them.  I hope I'm wrong though because the less players on offense we NEED to replace the better for our chances over the next 2 years. 

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1 hour ago, Best Player Available said:

The LA Rams where bobby Woods is a #3.

And makes nothing but big plays. What a blocker to boot!

 

...hard to believe his Rams' deal was thought to be exorbitant at the time compared to how the WR $$$ market has insanely exploded now......doubt he would have stayed anyhow...

 

Robert Woods signed a 5 year, $34,000,000 contract with the Los Angeles Rams, including $15,000,000 guaranteed, and an average annual salary of $6,800,000. In 2018, Woods will earn a base salary of $790,000, a roster bonus of $3,200,019, a restructure bonus of $4,710,019 and a incentive bonus of $300,000, while carrying a cap hit of $5,467,523 and a dead cap value of $8,700,038.

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