This offseason, the Buffalo Bills made some notable changes at the wide receiver position. They would release Cole Beasley, who has been the primary slot receiver for the past three years. The Bills also haven’t re-signed Emmanuel Sanders, who began the year as the starter but lost that role by the end to Gabriel Davis.
This season, Gabriel Davis is expected to retain that role as the starter opposite Stefon Diggs and Beasley should be replaced by a combination of Isaiah McKenzie and free agent addition Jamison Crowder.
The Bills also drafted Khalil Shakir in the fifth round of the 2022 NFL Draft and these five players should account for a majority of the receiving stats this season. I make my predictions on what the stats could be for these five wide receivers in 2022.
Predicting the stat line for the Buffalo Bills wide receivers this upcoming season
Stefon Diggs
2022 stat line prediction: 100 receptions, 1,325 receiving yards, 11 touchdowns
Since Stefon Diggs joined the Buffalo Bills, he has had at least 100 receptions and over 1,200 receiving yards. The Buffalo Bills recognized how important Diggs is to this team and agreed to a contract extension with their star wide receiver this offseason.
This year he should be able to surpass those totals again but he may have more competition for targets.
In addition to the changes the Bills made at wide receiver, they have also added tight end O.J. Howard and running back James Cook, who should all factor into the passing game this season.
With that said, Josh Allen is not going to forget about Stefon Diggs and will certainly look his way often. The one area that Diggs should improve this season is yards per reception so while his receptions may go down, the fact that the Bills have more playmakers in the passing game should help open up more for Diggs.
It isn’t unrealistic to think he could average upwards of 14 yards per reception this season and while his receptions could drop from last year, he should end up with more receiving yards.