Ranking Buffalo Bills top solutions to fix the No. 1 wide receiver predicament

5. Cole Beasley

Cole Beasley was a big get for the Bills in free agency. The long-time Dallas Cowboy is a slot specialist, and may be one of the best at doing just that in the NFL. The SMU product should provide Josh Allen with an array of quick-hitting routes, consistency, and third-down play-making, but he’s not well-suited to be the No. 1 target in Buffalo.

At 5-foot-8 and 180-pounds, Beasley is built more like a running back than a wide receiver. His lack of size hinders his ability to succeed on the outside — though his trickiness, quickness, and well-run routes work as a slot, it doesn’t against bigger, faster, stronger cornerbacks on a snap-to-snap basis.

The Bills likely saw Beasley for what he is; a massively successful slot wide receiver (319 catches for 3,271 yards and 23 touchdowns for his career) and paid him accordingly. While the team is looking to implement him in a less predictive role than he had in Dallas (more vertical routes and targets), they probably don’t see him as an outside receiver. And that’s fine; slot receivers are vital to offensive success in today’s NFL.

Beasley will likely be depended upon by his signal-caller for his quickly ran, often open, blitz-beating looks. This will undoubtedly help the Bills’ offense to be more efficient. However, don’t expect him to be a world-beating top-target that defenses center a gameplan around; instead, his duty — as it’s been throughout his career — is to supplement that.