Since 2020, the Buffalo Bills and Josh Allen have been darlings in the NFL world.
But if they actually want to win a Super Bowl with one of the league’s top signal-callers any time soon, they simply must add an experienced, capable and complementary weapon alongside Stefon Diggs this spring.
This championship contender has relied on combinations of safeties Jordan Poyer and Micah Hyde and linebacker Matt Milano on defense. On offense, it’s been some mix of top-5 quarterback Allen, the game-breaking Diggs and, well, Allen and Diggs?
No wonder Buffalo hasn’t gotten over the championship hump yet. Nor is it shocking that the Bills have fallen short of an AFC title game berth in the last two years. Their offense is far too limited and one-dimensional. It’s a two-man show that asks Allen and Diggs to do everything in every game.
But two people, no matter how close their bond is, can only create so much magic. The people pulling the strings in Buffalo need to get their two best players some help. Or else they risk wasting their best chance at a title since the Jim Kelly era.
Recent developments have connected the Bills to two prominent names on the trade market.
The first, according to NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport, is three-time First-Team All-Pro DeAndre Hopkins from the Arizona Cardinals. The second, per ESPN’s Dan Graziano, is former first-round draft pick Jerry Jeudy of the Denver Broncos. Regardless of whether the aging Hopkins heads to Buffalo or not, he doesn’t seem long for Jonathan Gannon’s rebuilding crew. Meanwhile, Jeudy is undoubtedly a talented playmaker and is still only 23. But he would probably be best served by a fresh start as the focal point of an offense.
Compared with Jeudy, the Bills would theoretically surrender less for Hopkins in a trade. A player who will be 31 by September and has more than 1,368 career targets will fetch a lot less in any deal because of his mileage. But, if Hopkins has anything left in the tank, the opportunity to create fireworks with Allen while taking pressure off Diggs should be too tempting to pass up.
There is the thought of a necessary lucrative extension for Hopkins, whose current deal expires at the end of 2024. But some salary cap finessing and a short-term commitment to an established dynamo are worth the trouble of potentially finally breaking through in the Big Game.
When it comes to Jeudy, the Broncos are assuredly seeking a higher trade price. Sure, Jeudy hasn’t lived up to his potential on the Colorado Front Range. A mere 157 receptions for 2,295 yards and nine touchdowns is far from Denver’s expected production when drafting Jeudy at No. 15 overall in 2020. Occasional consistency issues with his hands and a boom-or-bust play mentality have only dimmed Jeudy’s professional prospects ever since.
That said, Jeudy remains an elite separator and is still one of the best pure-speed receivers in the game. He just might not fit into Sean Payton’s plans. Plus, it’s not as if the quarterbacks Jeudy has worked with for three years have been up to par. You tell me how many receivers would thrive in an environment where they had to rely on Drew Lock (oof), Teddy Bridgewater (oof) and the Seattle ghost of Russell Wilson (no further comment).
Hint: It’s not many!
If anyone needed a new lease in the NFL, it’d be someone with the natural gifts of Jeudy — who has the potential to thrive with proper volume, a true offensive scheme focus and quality from a real star QB.
Like, say, Allen in Buffalo. What a coincidence.
Both receivers make almost too much sense for the Bills, who cannot afford to be choosers in the middle of a contending window. They can’t afford to be patient either, as most drafted prospects take time to develop. That’s time the Bills don’t have while Allen, Diggs, and the rest of their core are still together.
General manager Brandon Beane may have downplayed Buffalo needing a complement to Diggs after its latest disappointing playoff exit, but such a mentality isn’t wise. It’s an unforced error that throws an unnecessary obstacle into the path of the two faces of the franchise, Allen and Diggs.
With all due respect to glorified depth targets like Dawson Knox, Gabriel Davis and Khalil Shakir, the Bills desperately need someone who defensive coordinators have to dedicate time and energy to within their game plans. It’s arguably their primary missing championship puzzle piece. Never mind that Buffalo’s current No. 1 will be 30 by the end of the 2023 season. Beane and co. might not want to hear it, but Diggs probably won’t stay elite for long if the entire offense continues to run through him.
Asking Diggs to continue being Allen’s security blanket, a big-play machine and the only reliable target all in one is begging for trouble.
It’s an implicit choice to go home early in January once again.
