Buffalo, N.Y. (WGR 550) - With the 2023 season now over for the Buffalo Bills, it's officially time to look ahead to the 2024 NFL Draft, where the team has a chance to add some quality pieces to the roster for the coming years ahead.
One position that, once again, seems to be the hot button topic this offseason will be at wide receiver, and whether the Bills can add another weapon for quarterback Josh Allen, as he heads into his seventh season in Buffalo.
This is especially the case this spring, as it's more than likely the Bills will lose former 2020 fourth-round pick Gabe Davis to free agency. In addition, free agent additions Trent Sherfield and Deonte Harty never really hit the mark in 2023, plus Stefon Diggs is set to enter the dreaded age 30-plus years of his career.
If there was any season to add a quality, young piece at wide receiver, it may be this year for the Bills. And not just with the 28th overall pick in Round 1.
Over the next several weeks leading up to the 2024 NFL Draft in Detroit, I’ll be doing a profile on a number of targets the Bills could get throughout the early portions of the draft.
Our first deep dive into one of those potential options for the Bills is wide receiver Brian Thomas Jr. out of Louisiana State Universty (LSU).
While this draft projects to be a historically good one, Thomas Jr. comes in as my fourth overall wide receiver, and would be one of the true immediate impact players the Bills could add.
Thomas Jr. has great size, standing at 6-foot-4 and over 200 pounds (will get official measurements at the NFL Combine), but is not your standard tall receiver.
His best attribute is his acceleration and long speed, making him a matchup nightmare for defensive backs, and allows him to be a big play waiting to happen.
When you look at the Bills this past season, the team desperately needed someone who can stretch the field using their speed. Buffalo just simply did not have that available at Allen's disposal.
Thomas Jr. is not just a tall speed demon, though.
At his size, Thomas Jr. shows off much more natural movements then one would expect. This also extends to his route running, which is crisp across an, albeit, limited route tree, even with relatively questionable footwork.
Because of this, Thomas Jr. becomes one of the more versatile wide receivers in this year's draft, being able to do damage from both outside and the slot. However, he has more shown to be an outside wide receiver at the next level.
Thomas Jr. also looks the part of a natural receiver, going up and high-pointing passes out of the air rather than waiting and catching with his body. However, he is not perfect in that regard.
You may have guessed with a player of his size, the expectation is for him to have good contested catch ability. However, that really isn’t how Thomas Jr. would be best utilized. While he can still do that, Thomas Jr. has been used more to stretch the field on deep crossers and vertical routes, which fits more with who Allen likes to throw to.
Thomas Jr. does need to work on using his size both in 50/50 balls, but also in blocking, which is an area the Bills like their receivers to be quality in.
This did not stop Thomas Jr., however, from having a fantastic Junior season with LSU. Even as the second option to Malik Nabers, Thomas Jr. compiled 68 catches for 1,177 yards and 17 touchdowns.
The one worry here could be the potential of him being a one-season wonder. In his first two seasons at LSU, Thomas Jr. had a total of 59 catches for 720 yards and seven touchdowns.
The Bills may have to trade up for Thomas Jr., but over the past few drafts, general manager Brandon Beane has shown not just a willingness to do so, but seemingly a desire to do so. Not only did he trade up two spots in 2022 to select cornerback Kaiir Elam, he also did so last year, moving up two spots in 2023 to take tight end Dalton Kincaid.
It is still early in the 2024 draft process, but Thomas Jr. looks to be a name that will be on "Bills Mafia’s" lips all the way until draft night in Detroit on Thursday, April 25.
