Dreams of nabbing three potential stars to pair with Josh Allen went out the window when the Buffalo Bills caught fire late in the season.
Marvin Harrison Jr. (Ohio State), Malik Nabers (LSU) and Rome Odunze (Washington) are considered to be top-notch receiver prospects entering the NFL draft and are so highly thought of that the Bills likely won’t sniff any of them when they hit the clock with the 28th pick. And even the ultra-aggressive Brandon Beane (who has traded up in the first round two years in a row) likely won’t want to pay the price to move up this year.
But there should still bel plenty of quality candidates when the Bills are ready to pick and the first chance to get some measurable traits comes at the NFL scouting combine, which starts Monday and runs through March 4 in Indianapolis.
The big guys
For more than 15 years, a tall receiver who can jump for passes downfield has been at the top of every Buffalo fans’ wish list. Well, there could be a quartet of those players floating around the middle of the first to the early second round this year, depending how the combine and NFL pro days shake out.
LSU’s Brian Thomas Jr. (6-foot-4, 205 pounds) is the most polished of those players, possessing the speed and fluid hips to become an all-around No. 1 receiver in the NFL, shown in his performance against Florida State in the season opener. But at the moment, Thomas’ downfield talent is the focal point of his game.
Thomas had a FBS-best 17 touchdowns last season, while making nine catches of at least 40 yards and had five games with at least 13 yards per catch. He also showed the ability to catch passes underneath and gain yards with the ball in his hands after the catch, while also being a willing blocker on the edge.
But what Thomas needs to show is more polish with his intermediate routes to become a more well-rounded receiver. At worst, Thomas is a deep threat in the NFL, but has a chance to grow into more.
There is little doubt as to what type of receiver Oregon’s Troy Franklin is entering the combine. At 6-3, 180, Franklin is a deep-ball catcher who averaged 17.1 yards per catch last season.
Franklin had 35 receptions of at least 15 yards, including 10 touchdowns. He gained 1,006 of his 1,383 yards on those catches, which means Franklin was largely boom or bust for the Ducks’ big-play offense.
With Buffalo’s best downfield threat, Gabe Davis, likely departing in free agency, the Bills need a player like Franklin, but a one-dimensional receiver likely doesn’t warrant a first-round pick, depending on how many players Beane has a first-round grade on this year. Franklin will need to prove he can make underneath catches and gain the strength to fight for contested catches to be a consistent threat.
Florida State’s Keon Coleman (6-4, 215) and Texas’ Adonai Mitchell (6-4, 196) both fall in the same mold as players who can win jump balls, but need to be more consistent. Mitchell has the upside to be a big-time receiver — particularly after catching two touchdowns against Alabama last year — but he has one year as a consistent weapon after transferring from Georgia and had eight games of fewer than 50 yards in his lone season with Texas.
Coleman was a transfer to Michigan State and flashed with 11 touchdowns this year with Florida State, but had six games with fewer than 50 yards. His question will be whether he has the speed and quickness to create separation consistently in the NFL.
The small guys
The players who don’t have the height and splash plays are more likely to hover in the second round, but could still be nice additions to a Buffalo offense that saw a lot of Cover 2 defenses aimed at taking away Allen’s deep balls last season.
Georgia’s Ladd McConkey fits that description perfectly. He’s only 5-11 and 185 pounds — plus he missed six games with ankle injury last season, but McConkey has the tools to be a solid NFL slot receiver depending on his speed and agility testing at the combine. McConkey still had five games with at least four receptions last year and had 18 during his three-year career with the Bulldogs, despite having just four grabs over 40 yards.
Florida’s Ricky Pearsall (6-1, 190) plays a similar style, although he averaged 20 yards per catch in 2022 after transferring from Arizona State. Pearsall’s not a guy who is going to beat press coverage consistently, but managed to find windows in zone defenses in the SEC.
If the Bills desire more out of receiver Khalil Shakir and tight end Dalton Kincaid through intermediate routes, McConkey and Pearsall could be players who fit the Cole Beasley mold, which has been lacking the last two seasons. If not, a player like Michigan’s Roman Wilson might be a second round option.
Wilson could be a hot topic when he tests at the combine and it comes after a strong Senior Bowl, but even at 5-10, 186, he is not a slot receiver. Wilson actually has to show more underneath because he did most of his damage as a deep and intermediate route runner for the Wolverines.
In four years, Wilson averaged 16 yards per catch, including 16.4 last season. In a Michigan offense centered around the running game, Wilson was the team’s big-play threat, with 10 of his 20 career receiving touchdowns coming from at least 20 yards out.
Jermaine Burton also fits that mold after a productive four-year career split between Alabama and Georgia. Burton isn’t a fluid route-runner, but he’s physical at 6-foot, 194 and he catches a whole lot of touchdowns.
Burton caught 23 touchdown passes during his college career and eight of them were longer than 40 yards. He also averaged 18 yards per catch on 132 receptions, but may not be the heir to the No. 1 receiver job.