Buffalo, N.Y. (WGR 550) - After the 2020 NFL Draft had concluded, Buffalo Bills general manager Brandon Beane made it clear that he wanted to give offensive coordinator Brian Daboll and quarterback Josh Allen not only new weapons, but also a diverse group who add different elements to the offense. Of their first six selections, half of them were players Allen will be either handing off to or throwing the ball to, including 6-foot-2 wide receiver Gabriel Davis and 6-foot-4 wideout Isaiah Hodgins.
"I got tired of hearing Sean [McDermott] call our group the 'smurfs,' so we decided to get some larger ones," Beane joked with the media immediately following the draft. "Honestly, that's where it was on the board. We had some big guys, some slots, some guys that could play inside-out and it really just worked that way. Gabriel Davis was the highest player on our board. When he went even though it was a need, as well. He truly was the highest guy, not every guy was the highest guy, but he was. Hodgins was not the highest guy but he was equal with a position that we felt Hodgins had a better chance to make our roster."
Davis was a touchdown machine at the University of Central Florida, finding the end zone 23 times. He brings the offense a vertical threat from a taller receiver who can go up and take the ball away from defenders. He'll have to refine his route-running better at the NFL level, but will certainly be an option to play early on, behind Stefon Diggs and John Brown on the outside.
"He didn't run a variety of routes in that offense," Beane confirmed. "He's a guy that we had had plans set up to go privately work him out and I was going to be there for that because I wanted to see more of the route tree. But at the end of the day, we actually called down there and got some of his practice clips. There was a few different variations than what we saw on film, not the full array that he will run here but, again, big player. Vertical stretch can go up, high point the ball, contested balls. And again, a size guy. He's a strong guy. He's got some run after catch. We just liked the way he competes, thought he had a really good year, and I thought his hands were one of his strong points."
Although Hodgins is the taller of the two, he may fit better in the slot at the NFL level, at least to start, as he gets stronger and able to handle press coverage better. However, his terrific hands are what stood out to Beane.
"I don't know if he had more than one or two drops this year," the Bills general manager said. "Maybe two or three, I don't remember, but he double-moved people. Really good feel for setting people up and guys biting on. I don't think I saw a receiver win on double moves more than him. And again, another catch radius, bigger guy, bigger frame player. He was even taller than Davis so those two guys will come in and they'll be competing as well against each other, along with Duke Williams and some of those other big guys that that we currently have on the roster."
Those other receivers, after the consensus starting three of Diggs, Brown, and Cole Beasley currently include Williams, Robert Foster, Andre Roberts, Isaiah McKenzie, Ray-Ray McCloud, and Nick Easley.
With no glaring holes in the starting 22, Beane wanted to increase the competition along the depth chart as much as he could, while adding different elements to the offense.
"The kind of the theme that we tried to make it a lot of these areas is competition competition, competition," he said. "We got some guys coming back with Isaiah McKenzie, Robert Foster, you know some of those guys and then adding these two big guys to come in here and compete. Cole's obviously a slot. Isaiah can play in and out. John Brown is mainly an outside vertical speed. Stefon can play... I think his position one is outside but he could also... He showed in Minnesota that he can win inside. Just trying to give [offensive coordinator] Brian [Daboll] as many variations, not to have all the same small guys, fast guys, big guys. I like that."
Follow me on Twitter: @SalSports
