Bills GM Brandon Beane has filled positional needs on the team’s roster in the first wave of free agency to position the team to take the best players available to them in the upcoming NFL Draft.
He began reconstructing the receiver corps last offseason, only carrying over slot WR Khalil Shakir while drafting Keon Coleman and signing Curtis Samuel.
Going into the last season, expectations were that receiving tight end Dalton Kincaid would have a breakout year, but Buffalo instead found during and following the season that some questions remain.
With that, here are five questions the Bills must answer on offense:
Have the Bills addressed their speed and deep threat needs?
Beane has added a receiver on a three-year deal two offseasons in a row, inking Curtis Samuel last year and Josh Palmer this year.
Palmer has added a true “X” perimeter and deep threat with speed that was missing last season. The question is, who else will play in the depth chart in that capacity?
Kincaid struggled in long ball situations last year, and Palmer’s arrival is the first one since the departures of receiver Gabe Davis that the team has had a receiver with that makeup. The team could add in the draft or a later round of free agency to that position as well.
Will WR Keon Coleman have a bigger role?
In his first season as a Bill, Coleman was effective in limited action, making the most of opportunities to finish second among Buffalo’s receivers in productivity.
But with a strong offseason of development and Samuel and Palmer poised to help open up more opportunities for him in his natural positions in the route tree, he might take on an increased role and level of productivity.
Will Dalton Kincaid take the next step?
This is a lingering question from last year that remains unanswered.
During his rookie season, Kincaid set franchise marks for catches by a tight end and by a rookie (73), which was good for the fourth-highest such marks by an NFL rookie tight end ever.
He also benefited from Stef Diggs commanding double teams and coverage that opened things up for him to have opportunities.
During his second season, he also dealt with collarbone and knee injuries that hindered and limited his play. Now, with a full season and second offseason of two-tight-end set experience under his belt with Dawson Knox as well as the addition of Josh Palmer to the offense, a healthy Kincaid may take that next step this year.
Will Curtis Samuel live up to his contract?
Samuel had a mostly forgettable and uneventful first season in Buffalo.
That being said, the 28-year-old is back in Joe Brady’s system, where he had a career year with Carolina and provided the type of Swiss Army knife weapon with burst and impact the Bills have sought since the days of Isaiah McKenzie.
It appeared they had found just that in Samuel, putting pen to paper on a multi-year pact. Whether he lives up to it remains to be seen, though it’s worth noting that by the end of his first campaign with Buffalo, he finally showed those contributing and game-impacting abilities late in the season and postseason.
If he can keep that momentum going moving forward, we might see the player Beane signed him to be.
Is Beane done adding to the receiver group?
Last season, Buffalo rolled into the season missing a primary receiving threat who could stretch defenses with routes and command coverage to open things up for tight end Dalton Kincaid and rookie receiver Keon Coleman the way previous WR1 Stefon Diggs had. Beane responded by bringing in receiver Amari Cooper via trade.
Cooper helped open the passing game back up in ways needed, thanks in part to his commanding coverage as a primary receiving threat as well as his complete route running.
The offseason additions of Josh Palmer and speedster WR/KR Laviska Shenault address the X receiver need with Palmer while also providing a kickoff returner and depth receiver with home run potential behind Coleman in Shenault. The latter is on a one-year deal, and the depth chart is open behind the former.
Bringing back Cooper, who was a good mutual fit with the team culture and locker room, is an option, as are other free agents. So is adding another receiver via the draft, undrafted talent pool, or during roster cuts.
