Grade for the Buffalo Bills re-signing wide receiver Isaiah McKenzie

The Buffalo Bills continue to bring back players from last year’s team and the latest is wide receiver Isaiah McKenzie. Even though he had interest from a number of teams he agreed to a one-year deal.

Since joining the Bills midway through the 2018 season after they claimed him off waivers, he has developed into a unique playmaker that Brian Daboll has been able to utilize in different ways in this offense. He has 75 receptions for 715 yards and six receiving touchdowns along with 28 rushing attempts, 124 rushing yards, and two rushing touchdowns.

However, this coming season he could see his role and his impact on this team grow even more. The past two years the Buffalo Bills have had Andre Roberts as their primary returner on kickoffs and punts but Roberts signed as a free agent with the Houston Texans this offseason.

Now that McKenzie is set to return, he appears to be the frontrunner to replace Roberts in these roles and certainly hopes to win the job as Sal Capaccio notes in his tweet. If McKenzie does end up winning the job, the value of his deal continues to go up.

https://twitter.com/SalSports/status/1374755996309028872

Another reason this is an excellent move is for something he brings to this team that won’t show up in the box score but certainly helps. In another tweet from Sal Capaccio, he notes a question asked by Kim Jones about his role as the scout quarterback in practice. McKenzie in the past has played the role of Lamar Jackson and Kyler Murray to help prepare the defenses as they prepare to face these quarterbacks.

https://twitter.com/SalSports/status/1374756968561270791

Grade: A-

There is no question that the Buffalo Bills are getting a lot for a player who agreed to a one-year deal worth $1.15 million, according to Spotrac. There is no reason McKenzie won’t continue being that gadget player for this offense but if he does end up replacing Andre Roberts, this is another tremendous deal for the Bills.