The NFL's legal tampering period just opened today, and the Buffalo Bills are on the board with their first move. While fans were growing impatient, the Bills agreed to terms with former Los Angeles Chargers wide receiver Joshua Palmer. While the deal won't be officially inked until late in the afternoon on Wednesday, Bills Mafia should begin to familiarize themselves with him. It is reportedly a three-year $36 million deal with $18 million guaranteed.
With Palmer being on the more underrated list of free agents this season, who exactly is he? A former third-round pick of the Chargers back in the 2021 NFL Draft out of Tennessee. In his four seasons with L.A., he’s posted 182 catches, for 2,287 yards, 10 touchdowns, 107 first downs, and averaged 12.6 yards-per-reception. Palmer’s best year was his sophomore season in 2022, he caught 72 passes, for 769 yards, and three touchdowns.
Palmer was never the top guy with the Chargers, playing more of a depth-based role and stepping up when they needed him to. He was behind the likes of Mike Williams and Keenan Allen but flashed when he was consistently able to get on the field. He’s only started 29 games. The 6’1” 210 lbs receiver hails from Toronto, Ontario, and is packed with potential.
How Palmer fits with the Bills
Palmer brings a different skill set to the Bills’ receiving core, something they did not have last year. He is a good route runner and knows how to create separation. At times last season, the Bills would have no players open, especially early on in the season, which led to many struggles.
Amari Cooper was supposed to fix that, and while his presence helped, his age showed. Palmer ranked 10th last season in route win rate, according to Scott Barrett. The Bills' best receiver in this was Copper with a ranking of 61.
Last season, with no fear of Bills’ receivers, teams would man straight up when playing the Bills. It allowed them to clog up the middle of the field by dropping extra defenders into coverage, taking away the Bills' top weapons in Khalil Shakir and Dalton Kincaid. Palmer is a man coverage beater.
Last season he ranked as the 8th-best in average separation score against man coverage. Keon Coleman ranked the best of the Bills bunch at 54th, Mack Hollins was 71st, Shakir was 82nd, and Kincaid was 86th. Reigning MVP Josh Allen now has a reliable man-beater at his disposal.
The Bills also lacked a down-field threat not just last year, but the last few years. While Palmer might not be a grand-slam solution to that, he helps in that department. In LA he flashed big play ability, and while he isn’t a blazing speedster deep threat, he knows how to get open downfield. Last season he ranked third in the NFL with 15.2 air yards per target. Palmer was better than all of the Bills receivers last season on targets of 10-plus air yards, and 20-plus air yards.
While he might not be a star number-one receiver, Palmer fits the bill of what the Bills need; A boundary “X” like receiver who can get open and stretch the field. He also has a big frame and catch radius, which the Bills and Josh Allen love. While we await the full breakdown of the contract details, it seems to be a fair deal, and Palmer has untapped potential. The Bills don’t need him to come in and be a 100-plus catch guy, they like to spread the ball all over and they do have other guys. It also doesn’t prevent the Bills from dropping more assets into the receiver room, but for now, it sets them up nicely; Palmer and Coleman on the outside, Shakir, Samuel, and Kincaid working the inside