The Buffalo Bills wide receiver corp was ranked as the fifth best in the NFL recently by Pro Football Focus.
The Buffalo Bills wide receivers improved greatly last year with the addition of John Brown and Cole Beasley. The Bills front office didn’t stop there and this year made a big splash with the addition of Stefon Diggs as well drafting Gabriel Davis out of UCF in the fourth round and Isaiah Hodgins in the sixth round of the 2020 NFL Draft.
These moves are certainly getting attention and in Pro Football Focus’ recent ranking of every NFL team’s wide receiver corp, the Bills entered the list fifth.
"5. BUFFALO BILLSWhen the Bills traded for Stefon Diggs, my colleague Sam Monson wrote that the Bills had the best wide receiver group in the NFL. That may be debatable, but their standing near the top shouldn’t be. Diggs, John Brown and Cole Beasley all excel at creating separation, and they complement each other well, specializing in different areas of the field. That trio alone bumps the Bills into the top-five on this list. Dawson Knox will be an interesting player to watch at the tight end position in 2020. He struggled with drops as a rookie (nine compared to just 28 receptions), but he showed some big play and after-the-catch ability with six forced missed tackles on those 28 receptions."
The Bills are behind the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Kansas City Chiefs, Dallas Cowboys and New Orleans Saints. There is certainly a case that can be made that the Bills may not have that top wide receiver like the Chiefs or the Saints but the Bills strength is in their depth.
Stefon Diggs is an excellent route runner and has been highly productive with the Minnesota Vikings, resulting in consecutive 1,000 yard receiving seasons, but has not played with a quarterback with an arm like Josh Allen. This is one of the reasons Diggs could be in line for his first Pro Bowl season this coming year.
The presence of Diggs should also help John Brown and Cole Beasley as defenses are going to have to pay more attention to the former Vikings wide receiver. This should help open up underneath routes and the middle of the field, which should especially benefit Beasley out of the slot.
In their first seasons with the Bills, Brown and Beasley combined for 1,838 receiving yards and 12 touchdowns.
The wild cards in this group and who can push them further up these type of rankings is what production the Buffalo Bills get from either Gabriel Davis or Isaiah Hodgins. Both wide receivers bring some size that was missing and could be big red zone threats in this offense.