The Buffalo Bills have plenty of weapons on offense

Despite the negativity and changes, the Bills have plenty of weapons and the right QB to be as dangerous as ever on offense.

The Bills have been the target of a lot of negative criticism this offseason regarding the players they’ve lost, traded and unsigned. Particularly from national pundits who believe Josh Allen is overrated. The reality, however, is not what they’re portraying. That’s especially true when it comes to the Bills’ offense.

What the Bills Lost and Why It’s Overrated

Yes, the Bills traded Stefon Diggs and lost Gabe Davis.

Yes, the Bills lost several established players this offseason.

Yes, actually, Josh Allen has made a lot of turnarounds in his career.

Approaching each question in reverse order:

In fact, Josh has a HUGE number of touchdowns: more than any other player since he entered the league, including NFL darling Patrick Mahomes. No offense, he’s incredible, but so is Josh.

The established players they lost were, and I’m sorry to be insensitive but none of the critics are, old. Injured. Past their prime. In need of replacement. Expensive, too, for what you get in return. This is the NFL. Roster turnover happens and that’s not unusual for any team, good or bad. They replaced them with good players who should have similar, if not better, production.

To answer the biggest criticism: The Bills traded Stefon Diggs and lost Gabe Davis. Look, Diggs was great. He really helped Josh become the quarterback he is now. Rookie quarterbacks need to have a Stefon Diggs type player early on. You have to give them the chance and the time to succeed. Stef did that for Josh, and thank you.

Teams don’t trade a player like Diggs unless there’s a problem, and there was. He was cancerous on and off the field, and he lost his speed. Does that mean he’s not a good receiver? No. He’ll rehab in the slot for good teams and have a lot of success. His days as a No. 1, though, are over. He disappears in the playoffs, let alone the end of the season, and that’s not an opinion or a statistic about one season.

Davis has nothing but moments. He’s a good player. A fun guy. I wish him nothing but the best and I’d rather have him here. But the truth is, he’s always been replaceable. One giant playoff game doesn’t mean he’s a star.

Buffalo Bills’ New Receivers

The shadow cast on the Bills receivers is incredible, in my opinion. All of the free agents signed have potential for growth and 3 of them suffered from poor QB play.

I believe receivers can help a young QB grow, but ultimately it’s the QB that makes the receiver.

Allen needed Diggs to improve. He did. He doesn’t need Diggs to be great anymore, and that was evident late in the last two seasons when he was better at spreading the ball around than he was at forcing it to Diggs.

Allen is a special, elite QB who clearly had the tools and talent to become a great player, especially if he had a top weapon like Stefon Diggs. The receiver helped him realize his potential, but that doesn’t always happen to every QB.

If Diggs had been paired with Josh Rosen (remember him, Bills fans?) instead of Josh Allen, would Diggs have saved Rosen’s career? Probably not, because the reality is that Rosen is no longer in the league and never had the talent to be a No. 1 superstar QB. Diggs likely would have had average, at best, or below-average production with Rosen.

That wasn’t the case with Allen, who simply has more talent and was able to grow with Diggs, creating a mutually beneficial relationship while it lasted. Now, with years in the league, Allen can make other receivers stars.

The QB makes the receiver, and several of the Bills’ new wideouts haven’t had quarterbacks who could have made them, or anyone, good.

With Curtis Samuel paired with an aging Cam Newton, career backups Kyle Allen, Teddy Bridgewater and Tyler Heinicke have their limits on the type of production any receiver can produce. Do you think Stef Diggs leads the league in any receiving category with those QBs? The answer is no.

Good QBs perform well, and even average receivers look great. Only a handful of receivers make good QBs great. The Bills added good receivers who haven’t performed well at QB, but will finally get a chance to do so in Buffalo.

When Curtis Samuel finally found an interesting quarterback in Sam Howell, he was more productive than he ever was in his career. It’s not an extraordinary production, but is Sam Howell, with all due respect, an incredible quarterback on the level of Josh Allen? The answer is no. He’s in Washington.

Chase Claypool, when given a good QB, has been good. An aging Ben Roethlisberger has always been better than other aging QBs, and those two years with Big Ben were his best. All the other years have suffered from poor QB play, except for Miami last year where he came in after a trade and was never able to establish himself. He has perceived attitude issues, and we will find out quickly. He is a player, however, who has been very productive when given a good QB.

Mack Hollins is an interesting receiver who had a good season as QB with Derek Carr and did well. He’s a bit of a mystery but has a lot of potential.

The exception to this rule is Marquez Valdes-Scantling. He’s had great QB play in his career. I think he is what he is, which is a good, fast receiver who makes big plays for you here and there and gets about 700 yards. Every team needs that.

What else the bills have

Khalil Shakir, James Cook, Dalton Kincaid, Dion Dawkins, Spencer Brown, O’Cyrus Torrence, Ty Johnson, Dawson Knox and, oh yeah, JOSH ALLEN. They added Keon Coleman and Ray Davis in the draft.

You also get a full offseason with coordinator Joe Brady, which plays a big role in a team’s preparation and effectiveness.

There are a lot of weapons on this team. It’s up to Josh Allen and offensive coordinator Joe Brady to use them.

The Bills have plenty of weapons. Sure, they can fail, but the idea that this team is doomed to fail with a QB like Josh Allen is ridiculous.