Buffalo Bills wide receivers ranked 23rd in NFL by PFF

FOXBORO, MA - DECEMBER 24: Zay Jones #11 of the Buffalo Bills warms up before the game against the New England Patriots at Gillette Stadium on December 24, 2017 in Foxboro, Massachusetts. (Photo by Tim Bradbury/Getty Images)
FOXBORO, MA - DECEMBER 24: Zay Jones #11 of the Buffalo Bills warms up before the game against the New England Patriots at Gillette Stadium on December 24, 2017 in Foxboro, Massachusetts. (Photo by Tim Bradbury/Getty Images)

In Pro Football Focus’ rankings of wide receivers in the NFL, the Buffalo Bills find themselves in the bottom half.

The wide receiver position was a point of focus for the Buffalo Bills this offseason. They went out and signed John Brown, Cole Beasley, and Andre Roberts to join returning starters Zay Jones and Robert Foster.

However, the additions didn’t move the needle too much for Pro Football Focus in their rankings for wide receivers corps entering 2019. The Bills came in at 23rd and they wrote about this group:

"23. BUFFALO BILLSThe attempt was made to try and revamp this Buffalo receiving unit with the free-agent signings of John Brown and Cole Beasley, but ultimately Josh Allen still lacks the star receiver he needs. With Allen’s accuracy already in question and Brown finishing with a 13.7% drop rate in 2018, Bills Mafia should have cause for concern with their receiving unit heading into the 2019 season."

PFF brings up legitimate reasons for concern with no clear number one, and they certainly tried to address this with the unfinalized trade for Antonio Brown. While the former Steelers’ receiver is a top receiver and checks the box as a star receiver, John Brown has certainly looked the part this camp as filling the role of number one.

The former Baltimore Raven and Arizona Cardinal has produced when he has above average QB play with his only 1,000 receiving yard season coming when he had Carson Palmer throwing him the ball.

However, the real strength for this group lies in their depth as this is one of the deeper receiver groups the Bills have had in a long time.

This group, nicknamed ‘Smurfs’ by head coach Sean McDermott have clearly defined roles and their strengths should elevate this position as a whole. Speedsters like John Brown and Robert Foster will help stretch the field and open the middle of the field and underneath for Cole Beasley and Zay Jones.

The Buffalo Bills’ front office had a clear plan this free agency and certainly achieved it by bringing in a speedster for outside and a sure handed receiver for the slot. It will be interesting to see how they perform over the course of the season and it creates the results they are expecting.

Schedule