Buffalo Bills: Foster and Wallace are more than just one-year wonders

BUFFALO, NY - DECEMBER 30: DeVante Parker #11 of the Miami Dolphins cannot catch a pass in the second quarter during NFL game action as Levi Wallace #47 of the Buffalo Bills defends at New Era Field on December 30, 2018 in Buffalo, New York. (Photo by Tom Szczerbowski/Getty Images)
BUFFALO, NY - DECEMBER 30: DeVante Parker #11 of the Miami Dolphins cannot catch a pass in the second quarter during NFL game action as Levi Wallace #47 of the Buffalo Bills defends at New Era Field on December 30, 2018 in Buffalo, New York. (Photo by Tom Szczerbowski/Getty Images) /
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Both wide receiver Robert Foster and cornerback Levi Wallace were undrafted free agents out of Alabama this past season and are now pieces of the Buffalo Bills moving forward.

Rookies don’t always make the smoothest transition to the NFL despite being first, second, or third-round picks.

A perfect example is Buffalo Bills first-year quarterback Josh Allen. Taken No. 7 overall in the 2018 draft, Allen was clearly not ready to be a starting quarterback when the season started.

In other scenarios, late-round picks can come on and become impact players in year one. Another in-house example is Matt Milano. Drafted in the fifth round of the 2017 draft (No. 163 overall), Milano became an impact starter toward the back-end of 2017, catapulting himself to a rising star in 2018.

Then there are the rare cases where undrafted free agents come in and make people wonder why they weren’t picked at all. This brings us to a pair of Alabama alumni in wide receiver Robert Foster and cornerback Levi Wallace.

Neither player was expected to make an impact in year one as they weren’t even guaranteed roster spots, but both Foster and Wallace not only stepped into starting roles, but earned themselves roster spots in 2019.

Their emergence as key players for the team is not only a testament to the players themselves, but to the front office and coaching staff for identifying two players with talent and then being able to develop that talent in year one.

When it comes to Foster, the coaching staff deserves a lot of credit. When he made the roster out of training camp, it raised a lot of eyebrows because while Foster flashed potential and game-breaking speed, his hands and route-running left quite a bit to be desired.

He was released following the bye week after posting two receptions for 30 yards in six games. Luckily for the Bills, Foster was signed to the practice squad after passing through waivers.

The release of Foster served as a wakeup call to the talented rookie as he put in the work and was signed back to the active roster for Week 10. He rewarded the coaching staff and front office’s belief in him by recording three catches for 105 yards in his first game back. He then began to develop a great deal of chemistry with Josh Allen as the two started hitting on not just deep passes, but short and intermediate passes as well.

Foster had clearly put in the work as his route-running, awareness, hands and playmaking ability all dramatically improved. Since returning to the active roster in Week 10, Foster posted 25 receptions with 481 yards receiving (including three 100-yard games), and three touchdowns. The team had so much confidence in him they cut Kelvin Benjamin – the opposite of Foster in every asset of the game.

Down the stretch, Foster became the go-to playmaker in the passing game and a favorite target of Allen. Going into 2019, Foster has all but locked up a spot on the roster and should be near or at the top of the depth chart. He may have even surpassed Zay Jones as the top receiver on the roster.

It is remarkable that Foster has been able to come to prominence as the team’s top weapon in just a short time. A four-star recruit at Alabama, Foster never played on a high-powered passing offense.

In four years with the Crimson Tide, Foster played in 27 games with 29 catches, 345 yards and three touchdowns. The talent may have been there, but without a great passing offense, it is hard to realize that talent is there. Luckily, Brian Daboll knew what he had in Foster and the team was able to develop him into what looks to be a promising player moving forward.

On the other side of the ball, Levi Wallace had a very strong career at Alabama. A walk-on his freshman season, Wallace earned a starting role as a junior and senior on one of the best defenses in the nation. He was a starter on a defense loaded with NFL talent and lined up against some of the best athletes in the nation.

With size at 6-foot-0, Wallace lacks weight at 179 pounds and does not have elite speed or hands. However, he does have long arms and is a sound tackler which fits a Sean McDermott defense extremely well.

Like Foster, Wallace saw his first NFL regular season action against the New York Jets on November 11. He started that game after the team went through a carousel of players opposite of Tre’Davious White and did not surrender a start to another player all season long.

He went from practice squad player to NFL starter and starter in seven of the final eight games posting 38 tackles and three pass breakups.

With the experience and talent in the secondary of White, Micah Hyde and Jordan Poyer, Wallace slots in nicely as the corner opposite of White primarily because of his tackling ability. The other three in the secondary are the ballhawks and Wallace can be a strong run supporter. Adding in the promise that fellow rookie Taron Johnson provides in the slot, the team may be set in the secondary for years to come.

With both rookie cornerbacks in mind, Wallace and Johnson were two of the top five rated rookie corners in the NFL prior to Week 17. Not bad for an undrafted free agent and a mid-round draft pick from a small school.

All-in-all, the Bills did a fantastic job of identifying and developing two young players with a lot of talent. The work ethic of the two former Alabama players has translated to starting jobs in the NFL. Their success as rookies is a great story to a book that has just started.

Next. Bills Roster Outlook: The running backs. dark

There are more chapters to come as both look to be pieces of a franchise on the rise.