3. John Brown
After a rebound season with the Ravens in 2018 — 42 catches for 715 yards and five touchdowns — the Bills gave John Brown a three-year, $27 million deal to continue his playing days in Buffalo. Now in his sixth year as a pro, the receiver hopes to return to his earlier form; as an incendiary deep-threat for big-arm quarterbacks.
A speedster and deep threat by nature (4.34 second 40-time), Brown’s ability to stretch the field should pair nicely with Josh Allen‘s strong-arm. He will bring a veteran presence to the wide receiver room as well. In five seasons in the NFL, with the Arizona Cardinals and Baltimore Ravens, he’s caught 215 receptions for 3,230 yards and 22 touchdowns.
Brown has done his best work with quarterbacks similar to the Bills’ current starter. In his two seasons playing with the strong-armed Carson Palmer, he stretched the field by racking up 103 passes for 1,699 yards and 12 touchdowns — an outstanding average of 16.5 yards per catch. In nine games playing with deep ball ace Joe Flacco in 2018, he caught 34 balls for 601 yards on an average of 17.7 yards per catch.
In Buffalo, Brown has found himself in a favorable situation comparable to his time with the Cardinals and Ravens; he’ll have yet another strong-armed quarterback to take advantage of his speed. However, he may be more a field-stretcher than a No. 1 target; as he struggles in the middle of the field, is undersized (5-foot-10, 179-pounds), and doesn’t have a particularly large catch radius.