The Buffalo Bills badly needed a receiver, so they took Zay Jones in the second round of the 2017 NFL Draft. Here’s how he fits into Rick Dennison’s offense.
Presumably, the Buffalo Bills drafted Eastern Carolina wide receiver Zay Jones for two reasons.
The first is that they need a starting-caliber player opposite Sammy Watkins after the departures of Robert Woods and Marquise Goodwin. The second is that Jones, a very productive receiver in college, can step into the number one role if Watkins gets hurt.
That sounds like a stretch, but we can all agree that Jones has the potential to be a quality number two.
Now that the Buffalo Bills have him, the question remains: what will they do with Zay Jones? Let’s look at a few scenarios.
Scenario One: Zay Jones is your number one receiver
If this happens, that means Sammy’s foot must be acting up again. Truth be told, relying on a second-round rookie as your number one receiver screams bad idea. If it happens, there’s an indicator to what would go down.
In 2016, Jones set the NCAA record for most catches in a season with 158. Hopefully not by coincidence, Rick Dennison’s offense likes to target the top receiver. So if Jones is the main target, expect a lot of balls to come his way. He’s seen as dependable enough to handle that responsibility.
But what sort of balls would come his way? Cover1’s analysis of Jones says he’s good at working the middle of the field, which should help Tyrod Taylor. His scouting report also claims he’s good at sideline catches, an area of the field that Taylor excels at.
Given Dennison’s preference to give primary receivers targets, I wouldn’t be surprised if Zay Jones winds up all over the field should Watkins go down. I would mainly expect him to operate on the sidelines, while occasionally crossing over the middle of the field.
Scenario Two: Zay Jones is your number two receiver
This likely is what the Bills’ coaching staff prefers. With Watkins and Charles Clay as your main passing game threats, defenses will roll their coverage to them. When that happens, the Buffalo Bills hope Jones can win one-on-one match-ups with defensive backs.
Whether or not he can is a mystery, but the analysis gives us a little bit of insight. His draft profile claims he struggles to crank up the speed and separate from defensive backs on deep routes. That would make him more suited to play the slot. In fact, that same profile noted much of his production came from screens and shorter throws. Considering the results in 2016 (1,746 yards and eight touchdowns), that might be a path to emulate here.
Rather than continually trying to hit that 50-yard bomb to Watkins, Dennison might feel it’s smarter to throw a seven-yard slant to Jones instead.
To put it another way, if Sammy is the nuke that blows up another team’s defense, Zay is death by a thousand cuts. At this point, he’s a good replacement for Robert Woods.
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Scenario Three: Zay Jones is a depth guy
This would be slightly disappointing considering what the Buffalo Bills gave up to draft him, but it’s not horrible overall. It also likely means that other receivers (Corey Brown, Andre Holmes, Walt Powell) were stepping up enough to warrant more playing time.
It’s a good problem to have if too many receivers are playing well.
Truth be told, this scenario might actually be the most likely. Sean McDermott confirmed the Bills will be a run-first offense and Dennison’s scheme usually features two tight ends and/or a fullback. There’s only so many positions at receiver to go around and Jones quite frankly just might not get that many.
It might take time for Jones to get acclimated to the speed of an NFL game. In that case, it makes more sense to go to a guy like Andre Holmes or Corey Brown as your number two until Zay develops. Until then, he could at least be a good guy to spot one of those two, or even Sammy, on plays where they’re not on the field.
Scenario Four: Zay Jones is a special teamer
This would be underwhelming, but all possibilities must be considered. Jones returned kicks in 2014 and while he’s graduated from it, he can always be a possibility there. If that doesn’t work, he could always become a special teams gunner, similar to the New England Patriot’s Matthew Slater.
Jones doesn’t have the incredible speed of others, but he has the intelligence and character to learn that.
Yes, I’m going off of his draft profile again.
Scenario Five: Zay Jones is a bust
I’d like to not think about this one.
Next: Taking a closer look at the Bills' wide receivers
How do YOU think the Buffalo Bills will use Zay Jones on offense? Leave your comments below!