ORCHARD PARK, NY — Gone are the days of the mighty smurfs in the wide receivers room of the Buffalo Bills.
Cole Beasley and John Brown are retired, while Isaiah McKenzie plays in New Jersey. The Bills have pivoted to a new receiver style in their 2024 offense, and the key characteristic is size.
The Bills held their first open practice of Organized Team Activities (OTAs) on Tuesday at the ADPRO Sports Training Center. Bills quarterback Josh Allen threw to almost an entirely new cast of characters at wide receiver, led by rookie Keon Coleman.
Former Kansas City Chiefs receiver Marquez Valdez-Scantling signed with the Bills one week ago, and former Miami Dolphins receiver Chase Claypool signed on May 3. All three new receivers and fellow free agent acquisition Mack Hollins are at least 6-foot-3 and can play above the rim, to use a basketball term.
Allen explained after practice that all four new receivers have a similar mindset when the ball is in the air. He won’t be shy to test their ability to fight against a defender to catch a contested ball.
“I think sometimes people refer to them as 50/50 balls, but when you get guys with some size and are able to go properly judge and jump and catch a ball like that, kind of leans more to — they’d like to call it 90/10 balls or 95/5 balls — but it’s more 60/40,” Allen joked. “It’d be great if we can turn them into 90/10 balls and having that supreme trust of putting us in a spot where (they’re) gonna get it and if he doesn’t, nobody is.”
Here are some observations from Tuesday’s practice.
Coleman and Claypool make highlight plays
Coleman caught passes from Allen for the first time in front of the media and made a few nice ones. The best one came late in practice during 11-on-11 drills when Allen threw it up high with cornerback Christian Benford in coverage. Coleman soared up and snagged the ball right out of the air. Benford was still trying to recover and work back to the ball to try and impact the play — but it was too late.
Coleman had one bad rep early in practice when he ran the wrong direction on a route, and Allen flung it deep, and it fell incomplete. Coleman immediately returned to walk to the huddle and raised his hand to accept responsibility for the error.
Claypool had the other big highlight and it came on a throw from backup quarterback Mitch Trubisky, who had a stellar day of work in his own right. Claypool beat cornerback Ja’Marcus Ingram deep down the sideline, and Trubisky put it up so high that only his receiver could get the ball. Claypool jumped out of the gym, came down with the ball, and landed both feet in bounds.
Claypool was glad to make the play but knows plenty of work remains this summer.
“I mean, it’s cool, but you know, one play, it’s nice, but you want to stack those,” he said. “I think it’s OTAs — too early for that. In (training) camp, I’ll be more excited.”
Matt Milano on track but still not practicing
Milano was out for some practice in street clothes, but Sean McDermott said he was not ready to participate yet. The All Pro linebacker is still recovering from a broken leg suffered in Week 5 last season. McDermott is hopeful that Milano can start working into drill at some point in the next few weeks but he could be out until training camp.
Spencer Brown underwent offseason shoulder surgery but didn’t participate in team drills. New safety Mike Edwards is also dealing with a shoulder injury that should sideline him for three to four weeks. DaQuan Jones and Rasul Douglas weren’t in attendance.
Major collision stopped practice for a moment
Safety Taylor Rapp and receiver Khalil Shakir collided as both players charged toward a ball thrown by Allen during team drills. Rapp seemed a little over-aggressive, considering the Bills were holding a non-padded practice. Shakir stayed down for about 30 seconds while trainers rushed to check on him. He popped up, walked back to the huddle, and seemed OK. Rapp plays at one speed: all go and full gas.
Dalton Kincaid still very good
Kincaid made a pair of big catches on the day — one from Allen and another from Trubisky. Kincaid gets open easily and regularly and always seems like an option for the quarterback. The pass from Allen was a dart about 12 yards down the field and Kincaid made the grab in traffic but still had room to run. Trubisky made an almost identical throw to Kincaid and put it just over the outstretched arms of linebacker Terrel Bernard.
DeWayne Carter makes a splash; SVPG with an error
Carter worked against backup center Will Clapp and busted through the line, jumped, and broke up a pass by third-string quarterback Shane Buechele. Sedrick Van Pran-Granger could be in the mix for the center job, but he made a little error when he snapped the ball over Buechele’s head on one shotgun snap during practice. It’s not alarming yet but something to keep an eye on once camp begins.
