Where Does Eric Moulds Rank Among The Greatest Bills WR’s?

[Phil The Thrill]

I came across this on social media the other day.  Eric Moulds was quite possibly one of the more underrated WR’s of his time.  He put together several great years, and while he made 3 Pro-Bowls, I feel that he was never in the conversation as one of the best WR’s in the NFL during his prime.  
 

How about Bills history?  I know many will rightfully place Andre Reed on the top of the list of great Bills WRs.  It’s hard to argue given his longevity production and HOF status.  
 

But I think you might be able to make the argument that Moulds is a close second.  Maybe even the best WR in Bills history.  

You can argue that Moulds was more explosive than Reed ever was.   He probably was bigger, faster and more athletic too.  By the time he came into his own in his own, he was clearly better than Reed.  He also was hindered somewhat  by suspect QB play at times, and teams that underachieved.  

 

What always surprises me is the yards that Moulds racked up in year 3 - almost 1400 yards on 67 receptions.  It’s crazy to think he sustained a 20+ YPC through the season.  

I just think that Moulds was somewhat of an underrated both by the Bills fan base and the NFL. 
 

So where do you rank Moulds among the greatest WRs in franchise history?

 

 

[Whkfc]

Number 2

[papazoid]

thats easy.....2nd only to andre

[cage]

I loved Moulds!  He was just outstanding.  I'll agree with #2.  I wish we had him during the Super Bowl years

Edited May 15, 2020 by cage

[Stads]

I would put him second as well. He was such a beast in that 1998 playoff game.

[billsFORlife50]

Clear #2, probably would have been #1 if he had a good QB for more then 2 years of his career. 

[thronethinker]

I think Moulds was better than Reed, but Reed had the better career. Moulds would have been #1 had he played more years with Kelly and the Offense Reed was in. 

[Phil The Thrill]

2 minutes ago, thronethinker said:

I think Moulds was better than Reed, but Reed had the better career. Moulds would have been #1 had he played more years with Kelly and the Offense Reed was in. 

 

Reed had a lot of advantages that Moulds never did - the biggest was probably HOFers like Jim Kelly, Thurman, Lofton.  For that reason, I do think you can make the argument that he’s #1

 

You’re right though, Reed was able to serve as a competent #2 during the final years of his career.  Moulds seemed to fall off a cliff once he left Buffalo.  

[Rubes]

Man that guy was a beast. How many of those TDs were >50 yards? Guy had crazy size and speed.

 

[Golden*Wheels]

Top 10 if the pizza had pepperoni on it. Since it was a a plain cheese, that  really hurts him in my eyes. Drops him at least 3-4 spots.

[ehfeuh57]

#2

 

 

[Don Otreply]

Number two, and that could have been different if he had JK as his QB for most of his career. 

It would have been nice if he was on those teams, ?

[Gugny]

#4

[njbuff]

First there is Andre Reed

 

Second there is Eric Moulds

 

And then there is everybody else.

 

Pretty easy to figure out.

[dave mcbride]

23 minutes ago, Phil The Thrill said:

 

Reed had a lot of advantages that Moulds never did - the biggest was probably HOFers like Jim Kelly, Thurman, Lofton.  For that reason, I do think you can make the argument that he’s #1

 

You’re right though, Reed was able to serve as a competent #2 during the final years of his career.  Moulds seemed to fall off a cliff once he left Buffalo.  

He never really recovered from the leg muscle tear he suffered in OT vs. the Bengals early in the 2003 season. It took a couple of tenths of a second off of his 40 time.

[947]

There's no doubt Moulds is the most physically dominant WR we've ever had, but Reed obviously had a far superior career.

 

I still have an old white Champion Moulds jersey collecting dust in my closet, complete with an orange stain between the numbers from Anchor Bar wings.

[Kirby Jackson]

2 behind Reed

[Buffalo Junction]

If we’re just going off of their time as a Bill then it’s Reed then Moulds. Things change up a bit if you start looking at the entirety of careers though. We’d have to add Lofton and TO to the conversation in a serious manner.  

[MJS]

Moulds is 2nd behind Reed in yards and TD's. After those two you'd have to go with Evans and Dubenion.

[BuffaloBillies]

Thank god we have games in HD now. That old broadcast format hurts my eyes. Hard to tell who anyone is.

[Paulus]

In the Brian Moorman category.

[Rico]

#3. I would have him ahead of Dubenion, but I will knock him down a spot for his actions in 2005, his last year on the team.

[Capco]

1 hour ago, 947 said:

There's no doubt Moulds is the most physically dominant WR we've ever had, but Reed obviously had a far superior career.

 

My sentiments exactly.  

[sven233]

He's clearly #2......by a lot over #3.

 

I have always been a huge Moulds guy.  He's so underrated it's not funny.  I'd go so far as to argue that he could have a case for being the best WR we've had based on talent alone.  I've argued that if he had remotely any consistency from the QB position during his carer, he would have gone down in history as the best Bills WR ever and would be in the HOF.  But, that was the hand he was dealt, unfortunately.  I love Reed, but Moulds was a different cat.  He was a beast and could dominate games.  So yeah....he's #2, but could have been more.

Edited May 15, 2020 by sven233

[Paup 1995MVP]

Had to chime in on this one.  At least it is not about Josh Allen.  Eric Moulds was a beast of a WR.  He was big fast and athletic.  Loved watching him play.  And I was at his big playoff game after the 1998 season down in Miami.  That all being said.  A lot of you must have forgotten or were too young, or not alive yet to have seen the GREAT Andre Reed play.  He was an amazing football player.  Was fast strong and tough as nails!!  He also had great hands.  Much better hands then Eric Moulds hands.  Andre Reed was the consummate pro.  When he played he was compared to Jerry Rice.  Not at that level.  (but noone will ever be)  But he was right beneath him.  And as good as ANYONE else in his era.  

 

And lets not forget how the game has changed in the last 20-25 years from what it was when Andre was in his prime.  Teams did not throw like they do today.  QB's were beaten down like rag dolls.  And WR's were endangered species coming across the middle.  Do you guys remember the beating Andre took in the Super Bowl against the Giants?  Wow, he got his ass kicked and kept on getting up.  Guys like Ronnie Lott Steve Atwater and Brian Dawkins could really hurt you.  Safety's were not the size of Micah Hyde and Jordan Poyer.  Every team had an enforcer in the middle.  That was football.  And corners could just grab you up and down the field.  No 5 yard area to make contact.  It was all over the field.  Playing WR in Andre Reed's era was so much more difficult.  He was an amazing player.  Probably still underrated.  Moulds was an excellent WR.  But lets keep it in perspective when you are comparing him to Andre.  That's going to an entire different place.  

[Chicken Boo]

God knows I love this team, but Moulds wasted his career here.  He was a monster!

[Mango]

3 hours ago, Phil The Thrill said:

 

Reed had a lot of advantages that Moulds never did - the biggest was probably HOFers like Jim Kelly, Thurman, Lofton.  For that reason, I do think you can make the argument that he’s #1

 

You’re right though, Reed was able to serve as a competent #2 during the final years of his career.  Moulds seemed to fall off a cliff once he left Buffalo.  

 
He was in his twilight for sure, but he did play on a 6-10 Houston team with David Carr as his QB. I never realized that we took that pick and grabbed Kyle Williams. 
 

2007 the Titans were 10-6 with Kerry Collins/Vince Young. Surprisingly Moulds had the second most receptions from the WR Corp with a whopping 32. He retired after.
 

He was toast. It’s like the dude chased bad QBs. 

[NewEra]

Right behind Andre. #2

[Halloween Land]

If Reed is #1 and Moulds is #2 then Lee Evans has to be #3 right? 

[purple haze]

2 hours ago, MJS said:

Moulds is 2nd behind Reed in yards and TD's. After those two you'd have to go with Evans and Dubenion.

I have Moulds #2 as well.  But I'm taking Jerry Butler over Lee Evans all day everyday, and I liked Lee.

[formerlyofCtown]

#1

To bad he had garbage at QB compared to what Reed had 

Edited May 15, 2020 by formerlyofCtown

[Mr. WEO]

it's a very short list, so...

[formerlyofCtown]

32 minutes ago, Paup 1995MVP said:

Had to chime in on this one.  At least it is not about Josh Allen.  Eric Moulds was a beast of a WR.  He was big fast and athletic.  Loved watching him play.  And I was at his big playoff game after the 1998 season down in Miami.  That all being said.  A lot of you must have forgotten or were too young, or not alive yet to have seen the GREAT Andre Reed play.  He was an amazing football player.  Was fast strong and tough as nails!!  He also had great hands.  Much better hands then Eric Moulds hands.  Andre Reed was the consummate pro.  When he played he was compared to Jerry Rice.  Not at that level.  (but noone will ever be)  But he was right beneath him.  And as good as ANYONE else in his era.  

 

And lets not forget how the game has changed in the last 20-25 years from what it was when Andre was in his prime.  Teams did not throw like they do today.  QB's were beaten down like rag dolls.  And WR's were endangered species coming across the middle.  Do you guys remember the beating Andre took in the Super Bowl against the Giants?  Wow, he got his ass kicked and kept on getting up.  Guys like Ronnie Lott Steve Atwater and Brian Dawkins could really hurt you.  Safety's were not the size of Micah Hyde and Jordan Poyer.  Every team had an enforcer in the middle.  That was football.  And corners could just grab you up and down the field.  No 5 yard area to make contact.  It was all over the field.  Playing WR in Andre Reed's era was so much more difficult.  He was an amazing player.  Probably still underrated.  Moulds was an excellent WR.  But lets keep it in perspective when you are comparing him to Andre.  That's going to an entire different place.  

No I watched both.  Both were great but Reed had a HOF QB for his career.

Hope I don't need to list Moulds QBs for you. 

 

Let me know if you have gotten so old that I need to because you have forgotten

 

[Rico]

Frank Lewis is also far ahead of Lee Evans. I’d put Bobby Chandler ahead too.

[I'm Spartacus]

My favorites (regardless of stats)

1) Reed

2) Moulds

3) Bobby Chandler

4) Frank Lewis

5) Jerry Butler

 

[purple haze]

25 minutes ago, Rico said:

Frank Lewis is also far ahead of Lee Evans. I’d put Bobby Chandler ahead too.

I thought we were just dealing with homegrown WRs.  But yeah, Frank Lewis was a beast.  I was too young to really appreciate Chandler.   I'm taking Lofton over Lee too.

[MJS]

42 minutes ago, purple haze said:

I have Moulds #2 as well.  But I'm taking Jerry Butler over Lee Evans all day everyday, and I liked Lee.

No complaints from me. But Evans does have the yardage and TD totals so the case can be made for him. But yeah, I don't really have a strong opinion about it. Outside of Moulds and Reed it's a pretty muddled list.

[Buffaloflash]

3 hours ago, 947 said:

There's no doubt Moulds is the most physically dominant WR we've ever had, but Reed obviously had a far superior career.

 

I still have an old white Champion Moulds jersey collecting dust in my closet, complete with an orange stain between the numbers from Anchor Bar wings.

Without a Doubt!

Stronger and more talented then Reed!

[MJS]

13 minutes ago, I'm Spartacus said:

My favorites (regardless of stats)

1) Reed

2) Moulds

3) Bobby Chandler

4) Frank Lewis

5) Jerry Butler

 

What about Dubenion?

[Doc Brown]

For the Bills - Reed then Moulds

For the entirety of their careers - Owens, Lofton, Reed, Moulds