The Buffalo Bills won the AFC East for the first time in a long-time last season and much of their success hinged on the pass-catch combination of Josh Allen and Stefon Diggs. The question is, can the Bills take the next step on the backs of their two most valuable assets?
The Bills asked Stefon Diggs to restructure his deal to give the team more cap space and he happily obliged. Instead of making $12.7 million in base salary this year, Diggs will take the vast majority of that in the form of a bonus, leaving him a $990,000 base which will give the Bills a bit over $11 million to spend as they so choose.
Shortly after the cap space was cleared, Buffalo inked first-round draft pick, Gregory Rousseau, to a four-year deal guaranteeing the massive defensive end a total of $11,367,075. The Bills now have all of their 2021 draft picks signed with the exception of third-rounder, offensive lineman Spencer Brown, out of Iowa.
We have seen Tom Brady restructure his contract ad nauseum over the years with the Patriots, allowing them to secure the resources to be a perennial Super Bowl contender. The Bills are ripping a page out of New England’s playbook and Diggs allowed it to happen. Now all they need to do is find about $40 million per annum worth of spare change to keep quarterback Josh Allen in the fold when his contract is up after this season.
After a span of 16 years in which the Bills failed to make the playoffs, the team’s fortunes are looking up as they have been a postseason participant in three of the last four seasons. And it is not surprising that they posted their best record in franchise history with a 13-3 mark after the way Josh Allen matured into an elite passer in only his third season as a professional.
The former Wyoming star, and Buffalo’s seventh overall pick in the 2018 draft, threw for over 4500 yards with 37 passing and eight rushing touchdowns. He was the MVP runner-up to Aaron Rodgers and enters the 2021 season as one of the brightest young stars in the league. Because of him and his talented top receiver, Stefon Diggs, the NFL odds at all of the best online sportsbooks have installed the Bills as the odds-on-favorites to repeat as AFC East champs.
Aside from Stefon Diggs, I have some very real concerns about Buffalo’s receiving corps. Cole Beasley has been a very effective slot receiver for a long time but very few professional athletes get better after the age of 30 and Beasley turned 32 in April. Many will point to Beasley posting career-best numbers in receiving yards (967) and receptions (82) last year but I don’t believe he will ever replicate those numbers. He should be a perfectly decent option for Allen but he’s not a game-breaker and Allen needs another long strider besides Diggs.
We also see the Bills signed 34-year-old Emmanuel Sanders to replace John Brown. I’m not sure why Buffalo decided to spend $6 million on an aging veteran several years past his prime but I’m not comfortable that he will do much to dissuade teams to do anything but double cover Diggs week in and week out.
Buffalo did draft a bona fide speed merchant when they selected Houston’s Marquez Stevenson. But greased lightning doesn’t necessarily translate into catching footballs and there is a reason Stevenson slipped to the sixth round so I wouldn’t hold my breath for him to become the apple of Allen’s eye.
So now we have to believe that Stefon Diggs will seamlessly slip all of those double coverages he will see this season after leading the league in receptions (127) and receiving yards (1.535) in 2020. The 27-year-old is uniquely talented and his chemistry with Josh Allen was plain for all to see in his first season with Buffalo after spending his first five years in Minnesota. However, he has a target on his back now but he certainly sounds optimistic about working with Allen for another season.
“Josh will just look at me and say, ’Stef’, just get open and catch the ball,” Diggs told Modern Luxury DC. “I really don’t care what you do before that.’ And that’s hard to hear because I’m so used to timing routes and doing things in a certain type of way. But this is where the creativity comes in. I can mix things up a little bit, and the quarterback trusts me. The only way you can build that trust is by making plays.”
Diggs went on to say, “I haven’t reached the mountain top yet. I always aim high. I want five Super Bowl rings.”
And as good as Diggs is, if the Bills don’t upgrade their stable of receivers, it could be a disappointing season. If you are wondering what the Bills’ season win total is, then allow me to tell you that BetOnline is offering it at 10 ½ (O-155/+125) (visit our BetOnline Review) With an improved AFC East, I would tend to bet under 10 ½ Buffalo wins in my NFL picks because even an elite receiver like Stefon Diggs cannot do it all by himself.