Bills Predicted to Add 6-Foot-4 WR as New Target for Josh Allen

Bills Target Versatile Pass Catcher

Ballentine suggested the Bills could target Iowa State wide receiver Jayden Higgins sometime after the fourth round of the NFL draft, noting that the team could lose one or two veterans who played key roles in 2024.

“Wide receiver could rise up the list of the Bills’ draft needs if they don’t bring back Amari Cooper or Mack Hollins,” Ballentine wrote. “Assuming they find a way to bring back or add at least one veteran option to pair with Keon Coleman and Khalil Shakir, they could be looking for a developmental option on Day 3.”

Higgins would add some versatility to the offense, Ballentine added, with the ability to line up anywhere across the field.

“Drafting Iowa State’s Jayden Higgins would give them another big-bodied receiver to work with. He isn’t the best athlete, but he’s a good ball-winner at 6’4″, 217 pounds,” Ballentine wrote. “B/R’s Dame Parson noted that Higgins can line up at all three receiver positions in his scouting report. That could make him a viable fourth receiver with upside.”

Higgins made 140 receptions for 2,166 yards and 15 touchdowns in two seasons with Iowa State.

Buffalo May Have Other Priorities

The Bills hinted this offseason that they may be looking to add other skills to their wide receiving corps. The team was not lacking in size or physicality last year, but did not have a true speedster to stretch the field and test opposing defenses with the strong arm of quarterback Josh Allen.

Bills general manager Brandon Beane told reporters at the NFL combine that they are looking to add more speed to the offense.

“Maybe you could say we didn’t have enough speed … we averaged over 30 (points per game),” Beane said, via the Democrat & Chronicle. “You know what I’m saying? If we were, you know, the 20th-ranked offense or something, and (lack of speed) was constantly showing up, I would probably agree with that.”

While Beane added that speed isn’t the only thing an offense needs to succeed, it is an important component that the team lacked at times in recent seasons.

“Do I think (a lack of speed) cost us winning the Super Bowl? No,” Beane said. “Could we improve it? Yes. We’re always looking to add speed, but they’ve got to be football players, too. So I’m never going to turn down speed. I promise you, I’m not. You want speed at as many positions as you can. But football, as we know, is not played on a track, and so it’s the whole thing. We are evaluating the football player first, and then, ‘What else do they bring to the equation?’”