As we get closer to Week 1 of the NFL, the Buffalo Bills will be closely observed with the new offense that they have put together. Joe Brady was able to get the interim title removed from the offensive coordinator job and the Bills made a great amount of changes on the offense. Stefon Diggs and Gabe Davis are no longer with Buffalo, raising questions about who the Bills' true number one receiver is heading into this season.
The Bills have Khalil Shakir and Dalton Kincaid returning as the top contributors from last season, especially in the second half of the season. This past offseason, Brandon Beane added Chase Claypool, Marquez Valdes-Scantling, and Curtis Samuel in free agency, while also drafting Keon Coleman in the second round of the NFL Draft. While Coleman has the chance to become the number one receiver in Buffalo, it is hard to state that he is the automatic number one target for Josh Allen.
Even with Josh Allen in his prime, the Bills’ wide receiver room is not getting the best views as one of the best in the league. In fact, they are not even average according to Trevor Sikkema from Pro Football Focus.
Sikkema published a rankings list for NFL wide receiver rooms heading into 2024 and the Bills are near the bottom of the list at #27 ahead of the New York Giants, Carolina Panthers, Denver Broncos, Los Angeles Chargers and New England Patriots. That is quite the statement by Sikkema for the Bills considering the fact that Diggs and Davis were little to no help in the second half of the season and both Shakir and Kincaid were bigger contributors in the receiving game.
In Brady’s system last season, there was an approach of getting the ball to everyone and not just one specific player. Once it was discovered that the Bills did not need Diggs or Davis to win, the writing was on the wall about their futures in Buffalo. Now that the Bills have a much different receiving core, it is easy to say that it is one of the worst on paper. However, it appears that people are forgetting that Allen no longer needs a true number one receiver to develop. It has transitioned to Allen helping the guys around him develop into quality playmakers.
Buffalo’s offense is being overlooked but that is okay, because the more doubt there is, the more motivation there is for Allen and the receiving core.