What can Marquez Valdes-Scantling do for the Buffalo Bills passing attack?
By Alfred Ezman
Earlier this week, the Buffalo Bills signed back-to-back Super Bowl champion and former Kansas City Chiefs wide receiver Marquez Valdes-Scantling to a 1-year, $4.5 million deal that includes a little over a million dollars in signing bonus material.
Valdes-Scantling spent two seasons in Kansas City with the Chiefs after having four previous seasons with the Green Bay Packers. Ultimately, this gives him veteran status and is something the Bills could use to help mentor some of the young players within the team and even more specifically, the receiving core.
The impact he could have on that is crucial as a lot of eyes will be on the Buffalo draft pick Keon Coleman as he has been expected to perform massively this season following Stefon Diggs leaving Orchard Park to go play for the Houston Texans next season.
It was a down year for production last season for Valdes-Scantling as he finished with 315 yards and a touchdown on only 21 catches. These numbers are dwindled by his stats in 2022 with Kansas City where he finished with 687 yards on a career-best 42 catches.
It goes to show that Valdes-Scantling is not a wide receiver one, but it seems like the Bills have no intention of him becoming that. However, he should provide good support for quarterback Josh Allen and the Buffalo passing attack as he is viable to receive a handful of targets per game.
A change of scenery may also have been good for Valdes-Scantling. The move to upstate New York may be what he needed to get back into his big-time, play-making form that was on display two seasons ago when he was big in getting the Chiefs a Super Bowl. A Super Bowl is what Buffalo is still chasing as their window to win one is growing tighter as each season goes by.