The Bills have several new key offensive pieces, but the development of third-year wide receiver Zay Jones should still be a priority for the team.
With 14 seconds left and trailing by six, Tyrod Taylor took a 4th-down shotgun snap and scanned the field. It was the second game of the 2017 season, and the Buffalo Bills trailed the Carolina Panthers by six. They found themselves inside the Panthers’ 40-yard line on a final desperation drive.
Taylor shuffled up two steps in the pocket and launched a ball 30 yards downfield. As Zay Jones’ feet toed the 5-yard line, the rookie wideout extended his arms, only to have the ball bounce off his hands and into the turf.
Jones stayed down, his helmet and two fists slammed into the turf. Taylor squatted, head in hands, shocked. On a play that would have set the Bills up for one more shot at the end zone, on a drive they needed to score, a dropped pass squashed all hopes.
Throughout all of last season, the Bills suffered through inconsistent wide receiver play — dropped passes, bad routes, and miscommunication with the quartet of Bills quarterbacks. But for Jones, all those problems started the year before, during his rookie season.
Last week, the Bills signed wide receivers John Brown and Cole Beasley to contracts, solidifying a receiving corps that ranked last in the NFL last season for catches by wideouts.
But beyond the signings lies the more important offseason question in Jones’ continued development.
Jones was drafted in the second round two years ago with the hope that he would grow into a top receiver. Now may be his chance.
While Beasley and Brown may attract more attention, their signings are meaningless if Jones doesn’t continue to make strides in his third season.
Two weeks ago, with free agency and the draft looming, opportunities were there for the Bills to improve at wide receiver. Not many long-term options existed on the current roster, aside from Jones and Robert Foster. In order for head coach Sean McDermott to develop second-year quarterback Josh Allen, an upgrade was vital.
When the Bills traded for Kelvin Benjamin at the trade deadline in 2017 and sent third- and seventh-round draft picks to the Carolina Panthers, it was expected that Benjamin would fill the No. 1 wide receiver vacancy that Sammy Watkins didn’t. Injuries plagued Watkins and held him to one 1,000-yard season during his three years with the Bills.
But Benjamin never panned out. He was a former first-round pick, like Watkins, that had success in Carolina under offensive coordinator Mike Shula with Cam Newton throwing him the ball. During his rookie season in 2014, Benjamin had 73 catches for 1,008 yards, both career-highs. After his trade, Benjamin had only 16 catches for 217 yards over six games with the Bills.
Weeks after the Bills acquired Benjamin, he was carted off the field with a torn meniscus in his right knee against the Los Angeles Chargers. He missed two games and played through the injury the rest of the season. Benjamin had offseason surgery on his knee, but his numbers still dropped further last season. Over 12 games, 10 of those being starts, he caught 23 passes for 354 yards. Benjamin was released in early December.
That made Zay Jones the Bills’ No. 1 receiver, but it wasn’t a guarantee he could fill that role. It wasn’t even a guarantee that his football career would continue last offseason after he nearly jumped out of an apartment building window. Suddenly, Jones’ problems became more than dropped passes on the field.
Last Monday, it was reported that the Bills and the Pittsburgh Steelers were nearing a trade that would have sent Antonio Brown to Buffalo. The trade fell through, the Bills backed out, and the search for a No. 1 receiver started again.
Maybe it will come from the draft, depending on whether the Bills trade down and where top receivers, such as D.K. Metcalf, are taken. It could possibly come from free agency, where John Brown and Beasley were signed. Or maybe it will come from within, from Jones.
Jones has the potential to be a top receiver, which is the reason he was selected with the 37th overall pick two years ago. Combined with the recent additions of Brown and Beasley, Allen is surrounded by something he lacked during his first NFL season — a deep group of wideouts. That depth, though, relies on the development of Jones. In order to set up the deep ball to Brown and quick slants to Beasley, Jones needs to attract coverage wherever his routes are.
With the Bills driving in the red zone midway through the first quarter of its Week 17 win against the Miami Dolphins, Allen threw a quick screen pass to Jones on the right side. Jones reached back over his left shoulder to corral the pass, spun around and raced past two Dolphins into the end zone. In moments like that, Jones’ potential flashed. The receiver he is supposed to be has emerged.
After another year of development, and now with other talented receivers around him, the next steps Jones takes are the most important.
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