State of the Bills: Wide receiver group remains a strength for now
Stefon Diggs proved to be more than worth the draft picks it took to pry him from Minnesota, even though the first-rounder the Buffalo Bills gave up produced fellow wide receiver Justin Jefferson, who finished with the most receiving yards for a rookie in NFL history.
Added to a corps that already included Cole Beasley, John Brown and rookie Gabriel Davis, Diggs helped the Bills become the second-highest scoring offense in the NFL by finishing with NFL highs of 127 catches and 1,535 yards IN 2020.
He was named an AP first-team All-Pro, Beasley (82 carches, 967 yards) was named to the second team, while Brown and Davis combined for 68 catches.
Though the Bills let Brown go in the offseason, they signed free agent Emmanuel Sanders, who caught 61 passes for the New Orleans Saints last year and is closing in on 9,000 career receiving yards.
Needless to say, the latest installment of our series of detailed looks at each Bills' position group heading to next week's NFL Draft paints a strong picture.
But it doesn't mean the Bills won't try to bolster this group, which also includes ascending player Isaiah McKenzie, who is coming off career highs of 30 catches, 282 yards and five touchdown receptions. He just re-signed for another year on March 29, just when it looked like he might depart in free agency.
Because the Bills are generally deep at every position, they don't have to worry about reaching, so they could go for a receiver as high as the first round.
Minnesota's Rashod Bateman and Florida's Kadarius Toney are notables who could be on the board and be considered value picks at No. 30.
In the second round, keep an eye on Western Michigan's D'Wayne Eskridge, who can fly. Eskridge is small (5 feet, 9 inches) and doesn't do particularly well in traffic, but he can run past people to the point where traffic isn't a problem. Throw him in there with two All-Pros, have him go deep and see what kinds of problems that presents for defenses who also have to worry about Diggs and Beasley and a 240-pound quarterback in Josh Allen who is fast and not afraid to make a run for it if opponents sell out with soft coverage.
The Bills are in an excellent spot with their wide receivers.
They could be in an even better one in a little more than a week from now, with Allen coming off his best year but with his best years presumably still in front of him.
Nick Fierro is the publisher of Bills Central. Check out the latest Bills news at www.si.com/nfl/bills and follow Fierro on Twitter at @NickFierro.
