As the Buffalo Bills begin to prepare for the 2025 NFL Playoffs, fans are aware of two key areas that could hinder the team's pursuit of the Lombardi Trophy: the inconsistencies in the run defense and the nearly nonexistent downfield passing attack.
The defense has at least a tolerable defense of enduring attrition through injuries. The wide receivers aren’t so lucky.
Shouldas, couldas, and wouldas don’t do much for teams in late December, but after a season full of struggles out wide in Buffalo, it might be nice to think about an alternate reality where Josh Allen had a true No. 1 wide receiver to lean on this year.
The missing piece that could’ve changed everything for Buffalo Bills' passing attack
Bleacher Report recently highlighted a handful of players around the league, most of whom won’t be playing postseason ball, who they would have liked to see play elsewhere in 2025. In the exercise, they paired the Buffalo Bills with a perfect would-be WR1, Tee Higgins.
“Maybe things will improve next season, but we wish Higgins still had something meaningful to play for. Had he found his way to the Buffalo Bills, he would,” Bleacher Report’s Kristopher Knox wrote. “Josh Allen has needed a go-to receiver all year, and Higgins could have been the guy.”
Of course, Buffalo never had the chance to sign Higgins on the open market because the Bengals gave Higgins a 4-year, $115 million contract extension in March after using the franchise tag on him the year prior.
The Bills would have been hard-pressed to match such a contract, as Knox pointed out in his piece. General manager Brandon Beane did sign a wide receiver in free agency, inking Josh Palmer to a three-year, $29 million deal, the fifth-largest contract signed on the open market this past offseason.
While it wasn’t a great wide receiver free agent market last offseason, the Bills hoped that Palmer would build on his successes in Los Angeles with the Chargers, where he averaged 45 receptions for 571 yards and two touchdowns per season. With just 20 catches for 290 yards in 10 games this year, that hasn’t been close to the case.
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Instead, Khalil Shakir has served as the top target out wide, and the Bills’ passing game has suffered for it. Keon Coleman’s regression and Brandin Cooks’ ineffectiveness since he joined the team only put more scrutiny on the position.
Naturally, Higgins isn’t the WR1 in his own offense, and there’s no denying he benefits greatly from Joe Burrow and Ja’Marr Chase being the key players in his offense. But Higgins has proven plenty of times over that he can serve as the No. 1 option when needed, as he did against Buffalo just a few weeks ago.
The ship has sailed on Higgins playing for Buffalo, of course. And unfortunately, the upcoming class of free agent wideouts isn’t shaping up to be much stronger than last year, either. Beane and the Bills’ decision makers need to address the position next offseason, but it may be best to do so through the draft.