The Bills’ secondary will be tested against plenty of talented wide outs
Last week, we took a look at which quarterbacks the Buffalo Bills will face on their 2024 schedule. Next up, we look at a quarterback’s favorite position to throw the ball to, wide receiver.
This is an important position group to review because the Bills are set to roll out two new starting safeties in the secondary after the departure of Jordan Poyer and with Micah Hyde still unclear on whether he’ll play football this season. With that in mind, let’s take an inside look at what kind of receivers the secondary will be lining up against this season.
Eleven: The number of 1,000-yard receivers from last season that the Bills will go against this season. Without a doubt, that’s quite the challenge for the secondary. They will also face three teams with multiple 1,000-yard receivers on the same team. The division rival Miami Dolphins have Tyreek Hill and Jaylen Waddle. The Tennessee Titans added Calvin Ridley to pair with DeAndre Hopkins, and the Houston Texans of course added Stefon Diggs to pair with Nico Collins. It’s often tough to handle one talented receiver let alone two on any given snap.
Five: Of those 11 receivers who had over 1,000 yards on the season, five of them also had over 100 catches. Tyreek Hill had 119 catches, which was tied for second-most in the NFL. Tied with Hill was Detroit Lions wide receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown who had a career season in 2023 that earned him a new contract. Michael Pittman of the Indianapolis Colts had 109 receptions last season and Buffalo will see Los Angeles Rams receiver Puka Nacua for the first time following a 105-catch season. The other receiver with over a hundred catches that will be matched up against Buffalo is of course Stefon Diggs.
Eight: Averaging 15 yards per catch is pretty impressive in the NFL as it displays the big-play ability of a wide receiver. Well, Buffalo will face eight receivers this season who averaged that number or more last season. Three of those players are in the top five. San Francisco 49ers receiver Brandon Aiyuk finished second in the NFL, averaging 17.9 yards per reception — which was only .2 yards behind the leader (George Pickens). Noah Brown of the Texans was fourth in the NFL with 17.2 yards per reception, and Seattle Seahawks receiver DK Metcalf averaged 16.9 yards per reception.
Honorable mention goes to the player who had the sixth-most yards per receptions — someone Bills Mafia is very familiar with, as well. That would be Gabe Davis, who now plays for the Jacksonville Jaguars — a team set to play in Buffalo this season.