Buffalo Rumblings
The questions are how early, and what’s the goal from the group overall in 2025?
The 2025 NFL Draft is about one month away and all of the major dust regarding free agency has settled. That means there’s a good chance that the Buffalo Bills’ roster we see today is pretty much it until the rookies start flying off the board.
If you ask me, One Bills Drive should consider adding another wide receiver in the draft — but shouldn’t force the issue.
Yes, in a way.
Okay, fine. Maybe I should explain myself. I think the easiest thing to do in this situation is to make a quick list of players still on the roster and any losses to see what running it back actually means for the Bills in 2025.
The biggest argument I see for moving a small mountain or two for a wide receiver is to acquire a “true” number one, and I can’t exactly argue against that idea. Buffalo will return their default number one in Khalil Shakir, who they’ve actually re-committed to. I’m a numbers guy and they don’t lie. Shakir is not what most fans would call a “true” WR1. To reiterate though, he was the top guy for Buffalo in 2024 and he’s returning.
Their second when it comes to receivers was Keon Coleman. While some might argue his rookie campaign was disappointing, others may counter-argue that he was off to a good start flashing potential in a few games before the wrist injury. You might even bank on an improved second year, as that’s often how things go. As above though, the main point is that their WR2 is returning.
The next three were Mack Hollins, Curtis Samuel, and Amari Cooper. Samuel is still with the team and Cooper is a free agent who could still find his way back to Buffalo. Cooper may end up as a loss, which would put him in the same camp as Hollins who will line up against the Bills this year thanks to signing with the New England Patriots. As above, the main story here is that there’s been some loss.
There’s also been some gain. Buffalo signed Joshua Palmer and Laviska Shenault Jr. It’s likely that Shenault is here for kick-return duties, but from a pure numbers stance Palmer matches up better than you might suspect in many areas.
Palmer had 65 targets, 39 receptions, and 584 yards last season. Compare that to 82, 51, and 675. By the way, that second list is the production of BOTH Hollins and Cooper. On the flip side, Palmer’s one touchdown is quite a bit shy of Hollins (5) and lower than Cooper (2).
One player is unlikely to make up for two in a direct manner, especially when factoring in scheme, usage, etc. However, coming back to the main theme here the fact remains that Buffalo has moved to replace much of the lost...
