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The Buffalo Bills have a lot to figure out as the 2024 season approaches. Josh Allen's main passing targets are on other teams in the AFC and time is running out on finding surefire replacements.
The departure of Stefon Diggs leaves Buffalo in a tough spot, as Allen now has to find a new top receiving option after four very productive seasons. Even losing a solid but replaceable wideout like Gabe Davis, who signed with the Jacksonville Jaguars, creates some uncertainty. There are a lot of new faces to get to know in the Bills' offense.
Allen said in an interview with NFL Network that the somewhat-new-look Bills are still looking to get to know one another. Team chemistry will go a long way for any team, especially one going through major changes.
“Those relationships off the field pay dividends on the field.” @JoshAllenQB stresses the importance of bonding with new teammates outside of the football field. 🤞 pic.twitter.com/ekiyEbHZL1
— NFL Network (@nflnetwork) May 29, 2024
“In OTAs, you have an opportunity here where you have time in the building, outside of the building to hang out,” the Bills quarterback said. “So, making sure that, after we’re done in the facility, what are we doing after? Are we golfing? Are we hanging out at the house? Are we having dinner together? I think breaking bread is such a huge piece of getting to know somebody. I personally believe that those relationships off the field pay dividends on the field. So, we’re just trying to get to know each other on a deeper level.”
Bills entering 2024 with a brand new core of wide receivers
After assessing the team's cap situation, the Bills decided to trade Diggs and agreed to a deal with the Houston Texans that netted them a 2025 second-round draft pick (via the Minnesota Vikings). Buffalo also has an additional fourth-round pick via the Chicago Bears that they could use in a trade. With star wide receivers Tee Higgins and Brandon Aiyuk in contract disputes, Buffalo could dangle its picks to acquire at least one of them.
As of now, though, the Bills are coming into 2024 with a group of wide receivers that has little upside.
Although tight ends Dalton Kincaid and Dawson Knox are still here, as is wideout Khalil Shakir, the Bills' wideout room doesn’t have any super exciting names. Keon Coleman, the 33rd overall pick in last month’s draft, is an intriguing rookie who could become a go-to guy in short order. There’s also Justin Shorter, a rookie who landed with the Bills via a trade on the third day of the draft.
Aside from those three — two of whom still have yet to pay in the NFL — the Bills' other wideout options are Curtis Samuel, Marquez Valdes-Scantling, Chase Claypool, Mack Hollins and Andy Isabella. There are guys who have years of experience and have been good options at one point or another. But the longer you try to convince yourself, the less inspiring the group looks as a whole.
The most optimistic outlook the Bills have is that perhaps Diggs, who never had a game with 10 catches or 90 receiving yards in a game after Week 6 last season, is not as big of a loss as it might seem and that Coleman, Kincaid, Knox and the other wideouts are good enough to keep Buffalo afloat. They also have the assets to make a trade for a big name that rejuvenates the offense.
But on the other side, the Bills are heavily dependent on a rookie to be their WR1 and they don’t know with much certainty who their WR2 will be — or how good of an option it will be. The Bills should still be a winning team in 2024 but their time as one of the NFL's top teams appears to be fading fast.
