The Buffalo Bills saw a sharp dropoff from wide receiver Stefon Diggs at the end of last season, and one insider believes the team could be on the hunt for a new No. 1 for Josh Allen next season.
Vinnie Iyer of The Sporting News predicted that the Bills would use their first-round pick to snag a big target who would help offset the decline from Diggs and join a pair of other young pass-catchers to form a new offensive core for the Bills.
Bills Pick Versatile Wide Receiver in Mock Draft
Iyer predicted that the Bills would use their No. 28 overall pick to take LSU receiver Brian Thomas Jr. The 6-foot-4, 205-pound pass catcher would be able to grow into a “classic” No. 1 receiver for the Bills, he wrote.
“The Bills have two good key young targets for Josh Allen in Khalil Shakir and Dalton Kincaid, but Gabe Davis is a pending free agent and Stefon Diggs is showing signs of decline at 30,” Iyer wrote. “Thomas would give Allen the classic big-bodied No. 1 with his hands, strength, physicality and route-running prowess.”
Bleacher Report noted big potential for Thomas in their scouting report, noting that he could be a big asset to a team that likes to throw down the field — as the Bills have with Allen at quarterback.
“Thomas has the big-play potential to be a weapon in the NFL. It’s hard to find players with his size, speed and instant burst,” the report noted. “While he may not yet be the most complete receiver, Thomas has plenty of good traits to work with and is still a growing, developing young receiver. Thomas would be best served in a vertical offense that unlocks his field-stretching ability.”
Bills Still See Stefon Diggs as No. 1
Though other insiders expect the Bills to use their first-round pick on a receiver with the potential to grow into a No. 1, the team has insisted that Diggs will still play that role next season. The former All-Pro wideout was on a strong pace through the first nine games of the season, on track for more than 1,500 yards and 13 touchdowns, but hit a wall around the midway point and finished the final seven games of the season without a touchdown.
Diggs also struggled in big situations, dropping a deep pass from Allen late in the fourth quarter of the team’s divisional-round loss to the Kansas City Chiefs.
Despite the miscues, Bills general manager Brandon Beane expressed confidence that Diggs would bounce back and return as the team’s No. 1 receiver for next season.
“Stef’s, he’s a No. 1 receiver. I firmly believe that, not wavering off of that,” Beane said, via ESPN. “… Listen, we have to continue to put weapons out there to keep teams from bracketing him or, you know, locking him down in different ways to take him away. They know you are going to want him. Stef can still play, I’m sure he would love to have that deep ball again, he’d be the first to tell you. He’s super competitive, he’s going to work his tail off this offseason. I know there’s various reasons or questions on this or his production, all that, but I still see Stef as a No. 1 receiver.”