Buffalo Bills: What the team could do with no salary cap restrictions
Allen Robinson – Wide Receiver
24 years old (2014 second-round pick/61st overall – Jacksonville Jaguars)
2017 Stats (Jacksonville Jaguars): 1 game played/1 game started: 1 catch, 17 yards – Missed 15 games due to torn ACL
Contract Offer: 6-years, $90 million ($15 million/year)
Often times a great quarterback can inflate a receiver’s numbers. Look at Tom Brady, Peyton Manning, Drew Brees, or Aaron Rodgers. Other times, receivers are just so talented that they put up numbers despite a pedestrian quarterback.
Enter Allen Robinson. Blake Bortles has been his quarterback for his entire career and year after year he has put up numbers. Robinson was a second-round pick in the 2014 draft and it took one year for him to establish himself as an elite player.
In 2015, Robinson played in 16 games, recording 80 receptions, 1,400 yards, and 14 touchdowns on his way to his first Pro Bowl. He then followed up with 73 receptions, 883 yards, and six touchdowns in 2016, but only registered one catch for 17 yards in 2017 before tearing his ACL in the first game of the season and missing the rest of 2017.
What makes Robinson one of the best in the league is his combination of size, strength, and big-play ability. Despite lacking top-end speed, Robinson is big and lean receiver at 6-foot-3, 220 pounds. He makes up for his lack of elite speed with precise route running and ability to separate off the line.
He continues to impress with sure hands and ball security as he only has one fumble throughout his career. His size allows him to go up and get it over small receivers and win the jump-balls in tight coverage.
He is an elite player when healthy, and pairing him with a franchise quarterback (imagining the Bills get one this offseason) will truly unlock his potential. He is not yet 25 years old and already has four seasons of football under his belt; he could be one of the best receivers in the league for years to come.
If the Bills were to sign him, Robinson would immediately become their number one receiver and the focal-point of the passing game. Kelvin Benjamin and Zay Jones would become second and third options. With a franchise quarterback in place (imagine the Bills take Josh Rosen, Baker Mayfield, or Lamar Jackson) Robinson and the quarterback of the future could lead the offense for years to come and help lift the team to one of the league’s most dangerous passing attacks.