Greg Cosell - “I don’t think they have a number 1 WR”

[Thurman#1]

8 hours ago, Buffalo_Stampede said:

Pretty amazing comment. He says it’s based on film study. The Bills don’t have a number 1 receiver.

 

Comment starts at 2:13 in. But it’s a good listen. Not sure if this link will work.

 

https://go.audacy.com/rzMEawrpGGb

 

 

I'm assuming that what he means by a #1 is what is what is usually called a true #1. There are about 10 of those guys in the league generally. Diggs hasn't consistently performed as a true #1 this year. If by a #1 you mean a guy in the top 32 WRs in the league, he's there. He's among that group.

 

He's been a true #1 for his time in Buffalo. But this year? Fair enough to say not this year, I think.

 

The question is whether it's injury, age, play design, playcalling ...?

 

Can he get it back? My guess is that he can. But the problem has to be diagnosed correctly and fixed. It's definitely not a sure thing that he will. And he doesn't have more than another year or two, maybe three as a guy with that kind of ceiling.

 

Edited January 27 by Thurman#1

[Thurman#1]

20 minutes ago, GASabresIUFan said:

You don't need a pure No. 1 if you have an excellent group of pass catchers that keeps the defense from scheming or double-teaming a player to take them away.

 

Compare the Bills to GB.  They have 5 WRs and 2 TEs who all catch the ball well, the WRs all have speed and run good routes.  How does one defend when there are 5 guys in the pattern that can beat you and take the ball to the house?  You don't, you can only hope to slow them down and hope they make a mistake.  GB's top 4 receivers, all drafted in the last 2 drafts account for 2500 yards and 25 TDs.  This is what Brady did at LSU and what he should do here.

 

When opponents looked at the Bills they focused on Diggs.  Diggs helped them out by dropping passes (he has now done that in the last 2 years).  They ignored Davis, Sherfield, and Harty.  Davis had a few big games but otherwise faded as the season progressed.  As Diggs faded as well, Kincaid and Shakir picked up some of the slack, but not enough in the end.

 

However, draft two capable guys early in the draft and we go from just having 3 targets to 5 and we look much more like GB.  Add Cook to the mix and Allen should have a huge year regardless of whether or not the 2 draftees are as impactful as GB's kids.   Add guys like Adonai Mitchell and Ladd McConkey and our size, speed, and hands all improve immediately.

 

 

That's right. Brady never had a true #1 except maybe a year or so with Moss. And they never won a Super Bowl with Moss on the team.

 

You don't need a true #1. You do need a capable group.

[Billever76]

8 hours ago, Low Positive said:

The Ravens don't have one either. They are probably going to the SB with no WR having over 1,000 yards. Zay Flowers led the team with 858, but no one else even had 600 yards. Also, Lamar is their leading rusher. 

Helps when you have a defense as good as any of the last 20 yrs

[chongli]

8 hours ago, Unforgiven said:

 

Meanwhile KC has 75 Million plus to play with in free agency.

 

 

They won't after they re-sign Jones and Sneed:

 

 

[Dr.Sack]

2 minutes ago, chongli said:

 

They won't after they re-sign Jones and Sneed:

 

 

Chiefs are cheap. They don’t pay like Cincy. They will draft 2 CBs and 5 DTs to replace those old ass players. Cheaper too. 

[NastyNateSoldiers]

9 hours ago, Unforgiven said:

Diggs and Von Miller contracts are going to prevent the bills from fixing this team.

Both are washed and we are stuck with them.

Meanwhile KC has 75 Million plus to play with in free agency.

The bills can forget superbowl for years to come.

Josh Allen will end like manning not winning til over 30.

Talk about billsy.

Truth spoken and the truth hurts! 

[Ayjent]

Anyone who knows football and isn’t a Bills fan knows that the Bills have put their draft capital on the wrong side of the Ball and not surrounded their best players with enough talent on offense.  Sorry but Knox isn’t a weapon, Gabe’s been a guy that shows up best in big moments but he is very replaceable and could easily be a place where the Bills improve dramatically, and they need a younger big body back that can be a receiving threat to compliment Cook.  I think about a guy like Mike Evans, who has a tendency to drops, but ultimately can’t be denied because of his ability to get the ball no matter the coverage - and I’m not saying a HOFer is just waiting to be picked in every draft but those skills paired with Allen would be scary for the rest of the NFL.  He also blocks.   The Bills need to knock it out of the park again this year in the draft. I think last year was a great draft - Kincaid, Torrence and Williams will all likely be quality starters next year, but the drafts the preceding 2-3 years weren’t.  They need to pick up more draft picks if they can as they carry the weight of the Miller and Diggs contracts.  I get spending the money to take a chance to get over the hump but everyone grimaced at the Miller contract when it was announced and now it’s going to be up to Beane to get his staff to kill it in the draft. There really is no other way to get this team retooled to be the best of the AFC.   Honestly, I don’t give a crap about the D bc if it isn’t going to show up when it matters as has been the case every year, then what’s the point of limiting the offensive weapons bc of investments in the D.   Maybe take the medicine on some of these contracts so they are off the books ASAP and start looking to reshape with a new core. The team has a lot of money outside Allen in places that don’t warrant the compensation. 

[machine gun kelly]

14 hours ago, Johnnycage46 said:

I trust Cosell's analysis as he doesn't appear to be emotionally-biased and goes by the tape (tape don't lie)

I find the same on Cosell.  He’s fair and has balance in his approach to tape.  I also agree with his sentiment on Diggs.  He was a top #1 in years past, but not now.  I have some who have mentioned he played with an ankle problem so maybe with an off season, he may return to a top. WR.

 

With that said, we need to pick up two WR’s  in the draft.  We don’t have $ for any free agents.  I expect we probably will purge Von, and Tre, and although some dead cap, it will still help with the cap.  The sad part is we don’t have the space to extend guys like Jones, Floyd, and others.

[Since1981]

WR1, WR2 does it matter really? Eye test and tape say not enough. Best way for WR/QB is draft in Buffalo. No way FA WR comes to Buffalo without a larger premium. They’ve seen the videos of weather. Pickup highest WR Draft possible. Take advantage of unicorn QB now until it’s too late and explosive O, helps D anyway too. 

[NeverOutNick]

If I’m being perfectly honest I don’t think any free agent WR is going to be worth the contract they are looking for. I also don’t see any of them as guys we need. They are mostly big possession WRs that can’t get separation and drop a lot of passes. Yes, Higgins, Ridley, Pittman, Evans make the incredible play but it comes in tight coverage and after they dropped an easy pass earlier in the game (maybe a little unfair but basically true). Ridley may be the best bargain because unlike the others I do think he can get some separation with his route running but it’s not consistent enough. All this to be said, I wouldn’t invest money in the free agent class.
 

Like Greg Cosell said we need to get our #1 WR first round and then later in the draft get a guy who can stretch the field (I’d also be ok with Hollywood brown if he was cheap but he’s always hurt and I have a feeling will cost too much).

 

Another approach would be to find players on the last year or 2 of their contract that teams are trying to unload cheap. I’ve said it before but Courtland Sutton is developing into a true #1 and I’d be ecstatic if we could get him on the cheap from Denver. But at the end of the day I’d be fine going 3 WRs in this loaded draft class (take a page out of GBs recent book) and fill other needs in free agency so that Josh has guys he can work with for years to come

Edited January 27 by NeverOutNick
Typo

[Giuseppe Tognarelli]

10 hours ago, Beck Water said:

 

This is actually baloney.  Diggs was the #1 receiver in the league in receptions and yards in 2020.  About 1/3 of those yards were YAC.

He didn't do that because he "offers no dynamic traits".  He had an amazing release off the line and his route running was *chef's kiss*.  He could juke a CB out of his cleats, his jock, and next weeks' travel money.  Dion Dawkins didn't praise him "I had no idea someone could be that good at the sport of football" during an off-season get together because he wasn't dynamic.

 

I don't know what's gone on with Diggs the last 2 seasons, whether it's injuries or age or the lack of quality depth in the receiving corps, but let's lay off the tale that he hasn't been  "decisive and dynamic" since Maryland. 

 

That said...the guy in the slot takes a helluva beating, play after play.  It got to Beasley about age 32.  I don't think Diggs would hold up in the slot now.  Leave it to Shakir and Kincaid.

 

 

Hope so

2020 was a completely different story. Diggs was in his peak prime. Totally different conversation in 2024.

[Coach Tuesday]

The Bills don’t have a #1 front office.

[Billsatlastin2018]

2-3 years back, you could make the claim that Diggs was arguably in the Top 5 Receivers in the NFL. Not the best, but in the conversation.

 

No longer.

 

The following are better- much better than Diggs now:

 

Hill, Lamb, St. Brown, Nacua, Jefferson, A Brown, Moore, Collins, Evans, Cooper, Allen, Chase, Adams, Metcalf, DHop, Kittle.

 

He’s in with the Ridley, Godwin, Smith & Pickens- fine WRs, but not in the class of the above!

 

And definitely not in the separation on routes AND contested ball skills- like every other Bills Receiver.
Plus, we are now unsure about when he will clang one.

 

The Bills need a #1 who always catches the ball, gets constant separation for Josh and can climb and get contested throws. This applies to #s 2,3 & 4 as well, but let’s start with Diggs or someone better!

[DJB]

 

I’ll continue to say over and over and over again stay away from Coleman

[Mr. WEO]

breaking news.....

[SoonerBillsFan]

10 hours ago, Thurman#1 said:

 

 

That's right. Brady never had a true #1 except maybe a year or so with Moss. And they never won a Super Bowl with Moss on the team.

 

You don't need a true #1. You do need a capable group.

AND an OC that can scheme them open.  If only we could interview that OC...

1 hour ago, Billsatlastin2018 said:

2-3 years back, you could make the claim that Diggs was arguably in the Top 5 Receivers in the NFL. Not the best, but in the conversation.

 

No longer.

 

The following are better- much better than Diggs now:

 

Hill, Lamb, St. Brown, Nacua, Jefferson, A Brown, Moore, Collins, Evans, Cooper, Allen, Chase, Adams, Metcalf, DHop, Kittle.

 

He’s in with the Ridley, Godwin, Smith & Pickens- fine WRs, but not in the class of the above!

 

And definitely not in the separation on routes AND contested ball skills- like every other Bills Receiver.
Plus, we are now unsure about when he will clang one.

 

The Bills need a #1 who always catches the ball, gets constant separation for Josh and can climb and get contested throws. This applies to #s 2,3 & 4 as well, but let’s start with Diggs or someone better!

This is spot on.   Bills fans have always had a hard time recognising players were on the downside and were let go.

Edited January 27 by SoonerBillsFan

[Ayjent]

I think we can all agree that our biggest Ks outside of Josh didnt make a positive difference in the biggest game.  When Diggs, Oliver, and Miller dont make an impact its not really a mystery as to why they lost. At least Oliver was a big part of how they got in that position. I love Diggs' passion but you got lead by example not flub it at crunch time. 

[ProcessTruster]

19 hours ago, nedboy7 said:

 

I just dont see how his age can catch up to him in one week.  Usually you would see a slow decline.  But perhaps he has.  We will find out.  No way are they trading him. 

seems he was working through an injury

 

[Don Otreply]

We may not have a #1, but that is in large part that our #2 takes no load off of our #1 , this is not said to pile on Davis, it’s just that he is in a position that his skill set can’t fill, Davis is better suited to be a 3/4 and was far more useful in that role, jmo. 

[RG Murdock]

Doesn't matter what level of player Diggs is in 2024. Like Von Miller, were 100% stuck with them both. Sadly, were at the mercy of how motivated they are to even care. Looking back on 2023, I have serious doubts that they're all-in. Diggs seems more interested in a fashion/modeling career, and Miller a future GM. The checks will be cashed either way. Beane needs to kill the draft. Neither of these guys should be mistaken to have the character of a Kyle Williams/Jim Kelly.