The Best “One Year Wonders” in Bills History

[JohnNord]

With news of the recent retirement of Kiko Alonso, some Bills fans on Twitter have named him the best “one year wonder” in Bills history.  
 

Who are some other players that come to mind who had really one great year and then a middling to below average career?  
 

A few come to mind:

 

1. Karlos Williams - He had a monster 2015 season averaging almost 6 YPC and scoring 7 TD’s, despite missing 6 games and playing behind Shady. He also was decent in the pass game.    He seemed to be the perfect back and should’ve had a big career.  But his attitude and failure to stay in shape forced him out of the NFL and he never played again.   Tremendous waste of potential.  
 

2. Peerless Price - he went from being a steady WR2 to exploding in 2002 with career highs in receptions, yards, and touchdowns.  Donahoe traded Price as a RFA and he continued to be steady but unspectacular WR he was prior to 2002.  
 

3. Terry Miller - Rushed for 1060 yards his rookie season in 1978.   He rushed for less than half that during the remainder of his career.  Out of the NFL 3 years after his rookie standout season.  
 

4. Robert Foster - Became one of Josh Allen’s favorite targets and established himself as a bonfide deep threat with over 500 yards and 20 yard avg in just 11 games.  But he sunk on the depth chart and was out of the league 3 years later. 
 

5. CJ Spiller - high draft pick that had a middling career until his 2012 breakout season where he rushed for over 1,200 yards.    He had a decent year in 2013 but his production dropped quickly after and he was out of the NFL by 2017.  

 

 

[John from Riverside]

Bryce Paup?

Edited August 7, 2022 by John from Riverside

[Allen2D̶i̶g̶g̶s̶TBD]

Lorenzo Alexander- while still a good player in his other years with the Bills, he was a one-year-wonder in terms of sacks. He had 12.5 in 2016 with the Bills and never had more than 6 in any of his other 12 seasons.

Edited August 7, 2022 by Allen2Diggs

[JohnNord]

3 minutes ago, John from Riverside said:

Bryce Paup?

Yeah I thought about Paup too.  Still was a good player but never the force he was during his DPOY campaign in 1995

Edited August 7, 2022 by JohnNord

[Rc2catch]

I think it would be Karlos for me. 
He seemed to have some homerun potential. I’m still in shock he flamed out completely 

[TheBrownBear]

Jairus Byrd - in terms of INTs.  He had some good years afterwards i guess, so maybe not a one year wonder.

Edited August 7, 2022 by TheBrownBear

[billybrew1]

What about Bills that had their career cut short?  Derrick Burroughs, Shane Nielsen, Shane Conlan (sort of), Sam Cowart, Stupid Will Wolford would have been on the wall and in the HOF if he just took a little less dough…. Jeff Nixon I think? Wasn’t he great but couldn’t play long?

[Freddie's Dead]

***** Karlos Williams.  They cut Fred for that POS.

[Mr. Wonderful]

38 minutes ago, billybrew1 said:

What about Bills that had their career cut short?  Derrick Burroughs, Shane Nielsen, Shane Conlan (sort of), Sam Cowart, Stupid Will Wolford would have been on the wall and in the HOF if he just took a little less dough…. Jeff Nixon I think? Wasn’t he great but couldn’t play long?

 

Jerry Butler.  Fantastic talent but never reached potential because of knee injuries.  

Greg Bell.  A definite one year wonder us old guys remember.

[Buffalo Barbarian]

2 hours ago, John from Riverside said:

Bryce Paup?

 

No he had 3 good years before the injury.

 

 

[Over 29 years of fanhood]

2 hours ago, JohnNord said:

With news of the recent retirement of Kiko Alonso, some Bills fans on Twitter have named him the best “one year wonder” in Bills history.  
 

Who are some other players that come to mind who had really one great year and then a middling to below average career?  
 

A few come to mind:

 

1. Karlos Williams - He had a monster 2015 season averaging almost 6 YPC and scoring 7 TD’s, despite missing 6 games and playing behind Shady. He also was decent in the pass game.    He seemed to be the perfect back and should’ve had a big career.  But his attitude and failure to stay in shape forced him out of the NFL and he never played again.   Tremendous waste of potential.  
 

2. Peerless Price - he went from being a steady WR2 to exploding in 2002 with career highs in receptions, yards, and touchdowns.  Donahoe traded Price as a RFA and he continued to be steady but unspectacular WR he was prior to 2002.  
 

3. Terry Miller - Rushed for 1060 yards his rookie season in 1978.   He rushed for less than half that during the remainder of his career.  Out of the NFL 3 years after his rookie standout season.  
 

4. Robert Foster - Became one of Josh Allen’s favorite targets and established himself as a bonfide deep threat with over 500 yards and 20 yard avg in just 11 games.  But he sunk on the depth chart and was out of the league 3 years later. 
 

5. CJ Spiller - high draft pick that had a middling career until his 2012 breakout season where he rushed for over 1,200 yards.    He had a decent year in 2013 but his production dropped quickly after and he was out of the NFL by 2017.  

 

 

Solid list. Spiller came top of mind but can’t argue foster or Karlos…

 

j Byrd almost fits in here somehow too

[MJS]

Karlos Williams for sure. I'd put him WAY ahead of Kiko Alonso in Bills one year wonder fame.

 

Another name to add is Mike Gillislee. Had that 8 TD year with the Bills, then went to the Pats and didn't do much there.

Edited August 7, 2022 by MJS

[RobbRiddick]

Vontae Davis?

 

Oh sorry, I thought you said one half wonders

[freddyjj]

Marlin "the magician" Briscoe RIP.  In 1970, with a rookie QB (Dennis Shaw) Marlin had 57 catches for over 1000 yards and 8 TDs. Marlin made his only Pro Bowl that year. Bills went 3-10-1 that year under John Rauch. 

[NewEra]

I don’t think price should be considered a “one year” wonder,   If he is, than I’d consider him the best.  His one year was much better than Karlos’ best and yielded us a 1st rd pick. 
 

The legend of Kiko would certainly be up there imo.  Dude was a bum everywhere he went after his one good year with us.  
 

Maybe not an entire year, but Trent Edwards had us thinking he could be our franchise QB 

 

Mike Gillislees stand out year yielded us Matt Milano iirc.  

 

 

 

 

1 hour ago, Mr. Wonderful said:

 

Jerry Butler.  Fantastic talent but never reached potential because of knee injuries.  

Greg Bell.  A definite one year wonder us old guys remember.

Butler was a very good WR for 3 seasons iirc

 

Bell was good in his first 2 seasons before his injury and we were able to trade him for Bennett.  

[LeGOATski]

One of our current players.... Jordan Phillips. Had a great season and capitalized on it with the contract the Cards gave him. Now he's back.

[Big Blitz]

That year everyone thought Ryan Groy was going to be an elite Center - after filling in for Wood for 9 games in 2016

 

 

 

Bills backup O-lineman Groy a Secret Superstar, and there's data to prove it

 

https://www.democratandchronicle.com/story/sports/football/nfl/bills/2017/08/19/buffalo-bills-ryan-groy-center-backup/563157001/

Edited August 7, 2022 by Big Blitz

[Mcdermott]

Ahmad Rashad

[TheWeatherMan]

Terrell Owens played well for the Bills for his one and only year.  His career dropped off with the Bengals.  

[JimBob2232]

Trent Edwards?

[Captain Hindsight]

22 minutes ago, JimBob2232 said:

Trent Edwards?

Edwards was all hyped up by a desperate fan base for one drive against the Patriots. Dude sucked 26 TD to 30 INTs in his career. He was all hype

[Bill from NYC]

OK, I am going to give away my age. I think that only a small percentage of us will remember this man.: Dan Brandenburg, the "Preseason Wonder."

 

Dan was an outside LB drafted in the 7th round in 1996. He was listed at 6'4"/245. He LIT up the field in preseason games. I recall  thinking that he was a sack machine. The kid was destroying QBs! He was very fast, and didn't give ground vs. the run. I was positive that he was a complete steal of a draft pick.............until the regular season started. 

When the games got real he was pancaked and shoved all over the field on virtually every play. I thought that I was seeing things but no, he was slaughtered on a regular basis.

To this day I wonder whether or not it was due to injuries. I mean, he WAS from a small school, but he had the size, speed, and (I thought) strength. I am positive that @BADOLBILZwill remember this player.

 

Either way, I hope that he is doing well.

 

Edited August 7, 2022 by Bill from NYC

[WotAGuy]

Preston Ridelhuber. He was a one play wonder. Threw a halfback option for a TD to beat the Patriots. He was filling in for OJ who had gotten hurt, and had never practiced the play. 
 

He also was instrumental for the Raiders in the famous Heidi Game, recovering a fumbled kickoff and scoring a TD. 

[BuffaloBill]

39 minutes ago, JimBob2232 said:

Trent Edwards?

 

 

Interesting choice and one I would agree with.  He showed so much promise.

 

I can’t believe nobody has said Fitz Magic or Drew Bledsoe.  Both got hot and then fell off a cliff.

[Ralonzo]

The original Miller #40, Terry, had > 1000 scrimmage yards as a rookie and never got close to that again.

The best example I can think of is Brandon Spoon, made a bunch of impact plays as a rookie LB. Then started tearing muscles and washed out of the league.

[Bill from NYC]

6 minutes ago, BuffaloBill said:

 

 

Interesting choice and one I would agree with.  He showed so much promise.

 

I can’t believe nobody has said Fitz Magic or Drew Bledsoe.  Both got hot and then fell off a cliff.

I wouldn't say Drew because of his great lifetime stats. 

 

By the time we got him, he needed more OL help than the Bills had to offer. IIRC, we had signed a Guard from the Bears who was very good for 7 or 8 games until his body (and our offense) fell completely apart. Was that the same year that we had Drew?

 

Man, doesn't time fly?

[loveorhatembillsfan4life]

6 hours ago, John from Riverside said:

Bryce Paup?

Paup was a beast and I believe a four time pro bowl player through the years he had played here. Although he never reached quite his 17.5 sacks again I mean that was a special year. Teams had to account for him. I was a big fan of him and Speilman playing together. Those were some smash mouth football years.  I think he got hurt was never the same. 

[Sargent Hulka]

Bubba Thornton

[Ralonzo]

1 hour ago, Bill from NYC said:

OK, I am going to give away my age. I think that only a small percentage of us will remember this man.: Dan Brandenburg, the "Preseason Wonder."

 

 

He was one of those "measurables" types like Trey Junkin, who was a LB with great speed and no instincts who had a friggin' 20!!! year career somehow after hooking on elsewhere and getting a position change to TE. You gotta wonder how the current regime is (mostly) succeeding with those types of players where they previously failed. Were the coaches bad? Were the players not committed, or just dummies?

 

Anyway, a couple more of those types:

 

"Jumping" John Wendling, a DB whose gimmick was leaping over the OL to block kicks. (Same guy? this is a slightly bigger leap)

 

"Planet Theory" (i.e. only a few guys on the planet can do stuff like this) Mike Jasper who never even had a year to make us wonder about anything except why isn't he in the WWF.

 

Perry Tuttle, great speed, great routes, waffle irons for hands. First rounder who flamed out once teams figured that it didn't matter if you threw it to him, he wasn't catching it. Real-life Featherstone, ever more so than Bucky Brooks.

 

[Punching Bag]

1 hour ago, Bill from NYC said:

OK, I am going to give away my age. I think that only a small percentage of us will remember this man.: Dan Brandenburg, the "Preseason Wonder."

 

Us older fans may remember this article:

Quote

BRANDENBURG OPENS GATE TO SUCCESS

By Mark Gaughan

 

Jul 30, 1997

Dan Brandenburg can run as fast as Cornelius Bennett. He can jump higher than most NFL receivers and cornerbacks.

Now if he can learn the finer points of playing outside linebacker, the Buffalo Bills could have another of their diamond-in-the-rough discoveries on their hands.

https://buffalonews.com/news/brandenburg-opens-gate-to-success/article_307437d7-6c4a-5b95-83d8-9c16244512e3.html

 

Personally I think he would do better in current era where speed is much more important for LBs.

[Ralonzo]

1 hour ago, Bill from NYC said:

I wouldn't say Drew because of his great lifetime stats. 

 

By the time we got him, he needed more OL help than the Bills had to offer. IIRC, we had signed a Guard from the Bears who was very good for 7 or 8 games until his body (and our offense) fell completely apart. Was that the same year that we had Drew?

 

Man, doesn't time fly?

 

Oh THAT friggin' guy. Was it Chris Villarial? There was another retread from Chicago that was even less capable of blocking anyone that came later, that became a measuring stick for incapable guard play: the infamous Vlad Ducasse. At least he was FA and they didn't spend a high pick on him, like they did on Kouandjio. 

 

Speaking of other flameouts at guard... Derrick Dockery. Ugh.

[Bill from NYC]

9 minutes ago, Limeaid said:

 

Us older fans may remember this article:

https://buffalonews.com/news/brandenburg-opens-gate-to-success/article_307437d7-6c4a-5b95-83d8-9c16244512e3.html

 

Personally I think he would do better in current era where speed is much more important for LBs.

Good chance. Going to a big time college might have also helped. 

[cwater10]

In terms of impact on the Bills, Ahmad Rashad.  One great year in '74, then injured an on to greener pastures in Minnesota.

[Punching Bag]

15 minutes ago, Bill from NYC said:

Good chance. Going to a big time college might have also helped. 

 

He did several change of positions in college which hurt his chances. 

He had all the measurables but got lost in the shuffle and then became expendable.

In current era he would have stuck on PS for a while.

[78thealltimegreat]

JP Losman… actually had over 3000 yards passing one year then went down faster then Zach Wilson on Stiflers Mom

[Mr Info]

Damien Covington - looked like a future linebacking star in 97. In his final game, an overtime loss to Denver, Covington had 20 solo tackles. But he had a devastating knee injury the next week in practice and never played again.

[NoHuddleKelly12]

Not quite to OP’s point given you can’t call it a year’s worth of wow, but I remember being so pumped watching Tim Tindale come out of nowhere against the Dolphins in the ‘95 playoffs and thinking we had ourselves a CFL gem for the future, but alas, it was not to be. An article about this one when it was still our last playoff W:
https://buffalonews.com/sports/bills/tim-tindale-remembers-run-that-helped-in-bills-last-playoff-win/article_d832e3ef-77f5-5449-bddc-49ededc92bc0.amp.html

[Stanley Lombardi]

Roger Kochman, the seismic sensation of '62.

[CSBill]

Kiko Alonso

 

Edited August 7, 2022 by CSBill

[Beast]

I remember a kick returner by the name of Mike Mosley during the strike year of 82. He led the league in kickoff returns. He seemed to break a long one every game but could never take it the distance. He faded away after that year but did make a huge reception in OT against Miami the next year that set up the game winning FG.

 

What could have been....

Edited August 7, 2022 by Beast