Bills have need for speed at WR: Will NFL combine results shed light on draft possibility?

INDIANAPOLIS - Brandon Beane made a perfectly salient point Tuesday afternoon at the scouting combine when he was asked about the need to add a deep threat wide receiver to the Buffalo Bills offense.

“Maybe you could say we didn’t have enough speed … we averaged over 30 (points per game),” Beane said. “You know what I’m saying? If we were, you know, the 20th-ranked offense or something, and (lack of speed) was constantly showing up, I would probably agree with that.”

And he’s right, even with a somewhat underwhelming group of receivers, none of whom have the type of speed that keeps defenses awake at night, the Bills set a franchise record with 525 points in 2024 and their 30.9 average was second in the NFL behind only Detroit (33.2).

Clearly, speed isn’t everything, but Beane acknowledged that adding a speed element on the outside would certainly help Josh Allen and the offense.

“Do I think (a lack of speed) cost us winning the Super Bowl? No,” Beane said. “Could we improve it? Yes. We’re always looking to add speed, but they’ve got to be football players, too. So I’m never going to turn down speed. I promise you, I’m not. You want speed at as many positions as you can. But football, as we know, is not played on a track, and so it’s the whole thing. We are evaluating the football player first, and then, ‘What else do they bring to the equation?’”

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Buffalo Bills lack deep threat at wide receiver

Tuesday, Beane locked up a four-year, $60.2 million contract extension for Khalil Shakir who in 2024 was undeniably the Bills’ best receiver. It’s a good move, but while Shakir certainly has quickness and is one of the best yards-after-catch players in the league, he isn’t a straight line deep threat.

Neither is Keon Coleman or Curtis Samuel who will both be back with Buffalo in 2025, nor were Amari Cooper and Mack Hollins who may not return because they are about to become free agents.

“I thought we did that at times, probably not enough this year,” coach Sean McDermott said when he was asked about the Bills’ lack of big plays down the field. “And not just in throwing the ball deep. It doesn’t always mean that. It means taking a short pass and taking it for some good (yards after catch). Overall, we did some good things in that wide receiver room. Can you always benefit from adding more speed? Absolutely.”

What has been interesting in both of the media sessions with McDermott and Beane since the AFC Championship Game loss to the Chiefs - one a few days after that game and now this week at the combine - is their harping on the need for Coleman to take a step forward in his upcoming second season.

Both said he was coming along well as a rookie before he suffered a wrist injury against the Dolphins on Nov. 3, and then after his return they were clearly not pleased with the way he played.

“I thought he had an up and down first season,” McDermott said. “He got injured, and then from there on, it was rather rocky, I would say. And we’re looking for him to learn from those moments of adversity and come back and have a really strong offseason and get himself going into the start of season two here.”

Said Beane: “I agree with Sean. Keon was really trending up, and he got the unfortunate hit on his wrist in the Miami game and probably didn’t reach to the peak that he was at pre-injury. Keon Coleman’s 21 years old so let’s give him a chance, let’s don’t beat him up. He made some plays for us, made some big plays. Are there some plays he would want back? Sure. Are there some things he needs to do better? Yes. I have no doubt that he’s going to come back with a refreshed mindset and ready to, if there are doubters, prove them wrong.”

Coleman living up to being the No. 33 overall pick in the 2024 draft is imperative, but so, too, is Beane bringing in someone who can ease some of the burden, a true No. 1-type who would push Shakir and Coleman into more logical No. 2 and No. 3 spots.

“I think No. 1’s are great,” McDermott said matter-of-factly. “They’re hard to find, difference making players. Difference makers are out there, you just got to find them. I am a believer in that speed, stretching the field, and not just vertically, but horizontally and vertically. I think it just opens up a defense.”

One name that has been attached to the Bills in free agency is Hollywood Brown, who spent last season with the Chiefs, missing most of the season because of a shoulder injury. He’ll turn 28 in June and he still has the type of speed the Bills are looking for, but he has just one 1,000-yard season in six NFL seasons and his market value will be somewhere in the $8 million per year range.

Finding a receiver in the draft would be more prudent, but this is not considered a particularly strong year at the position.

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Wide receivers who could be drafted in first round

There is a consensus among scouts that there could be four or five receivers picked in the first round, but none are seen as better prospects than the first three selected in 2024 - Marvin Harrison, Malik Nabers and Rome Odunze.

In his latest mock draft - if you don’t count Colorado’s Travis Hunter who was a receiver and cornerback on his way to winning the Heisman Trophy and will be evaluated primarily as a corner - NFL Network draft analyst Daniel Jeremiah doesn’t have a receiver going until No. 19, Arizona’s Tetairoa McMillan to the Buccaneers.

Then he has Ohio State’s Emeka Egbuka going to the Texans at No. 25, and Texas’ Matthew Golden to the Bills at No. 30, saying, “The Bills have needs on defense, but this is strictly a value play. Golden would be a perfect fit with Josh Allen.”

The 6-foot, 195-pound Golden is considered to have adequate speed and is known for his ability to line up in different spots, obviously something the Bills covet, but does he have enough speed to separate?

Well, per TruMedia, there were college football players with at least 50 targets last season and 28.2% of Golden’s targets resulted in gains of 20-or-more yards, the second-highest rate in the country.