Buffalo Bills: Expecting an upgrade at wide receiver

The Buffalo Bills have talent at the wide receiver position but it stands out as one of the glaring needs for the team this offseason.

We have published several articles about potential options at wide receiver for the Buffalo Bills in 2018, and the options remain almost endless.

From the draft to free agency, the Bills can take any route in finding a new receiver or two who actually gets separation on his routes.

I’m touching on the position again because sometimes it is easy to get caught up while solely focusing on the Bills. Constant analysis leads to certain opinions being held all year, so it’s good to get an outside take.

Matt Harmon of NFL.com is doing a series where he goes through positions for each NFL team and decides who is in need of an upgrade, who is all set for 2018, and so on.

As expected, the Bills fall under the “upgrade” category.

From the article:

"Buffalo will return Kelvin Benjamin and Zay Jones from a group that ultimately wasn’t effective in 2017. Next Gen Stats shows that the Bills wide receivers had an average 2.47 yards of separation from defenders when the quarterback released the ball, ranking dead last in 2017. Benjamin has never been known for his ability to create separation, but it’s worth hoping he’ll be better in his first full season with the team after he came to Buffalo via trade in the middle of last year. Jones will look to rebound from a disastrous rookie season where he caught just 36.5 percent of the balls thrown his way."

There are several variables that go into the poor performance of the group from 2017. From the belief that Tyrod Taylor is simply average to the fact Kelvin Benjamin joined the team late and Zay Jones played hurt throughout the year, 2018 is a fresh start. And a fresh start without Taylor at the helm may already have some fans excited.

But this doesn’t mean the Bills shouldn’t at least add one new receiver to the group. With Jordan Matthews potentially heading elsewhere, although nothing is certain yet, the team has the ability to go after the big name players both in free agency and the draft.

Next: Late-round prospects to keep an eye on

At this point it almost feels like a fair expectation that an upgrade is coming. That is easier said than done, but the Bills are a legitimate contender now so it’s easier to get players in the door for meetings than it has been in the past. Also, money still matters and the Bills have around $30 million to spend as of right now.