Buffalo Bills: Highlighting the Best Upcoming Battle in Training Camp

Stevie Johnson can't carry the load of the entire wide receiver position by himself, but who's going to step up and help him?

That's one of the biggest questions the Buffalo Bills face heading into training camp, and it's one that will be highlighted during a battle involving a deep core with talent yet unproven potential at the position. The Bills need someone to step up more than any other team in the NFL—they had three wide receivers on the field 77 percent of the time and four wide receivers 32 percent of the time last season, both the highest percentage in the league according to Mike Clay of Rotoworld.

Johnson and slot receiver David Nelson should still be the top two targets in the offense, but the Bills are looking less for a "No. 2 receiver" and more for a skill set. Specifically, the Bills have a need for speed.

Wide receivers Donald Jones, Marcus Easley, T.J. Graham and more will be battling it out for playing time in the offense.

Jones earned a job as a No. 2 last year in training camp, but never lived up to the billing on the stat sheet. He is regarded as having the inside track as the No. 2 receiver even though he has been lining up in the slot in practice.

Easley has battled injuries throughout his career, but Chris Brown of BuffaloBills.com believes he has the best skill set of the current receivers on the roster. Johnson regarded Easley as a "beast" for his combination of size and speed. This is seen as something of a make-or-break offseason for him.

The Bills feels Graham can be a Z receiver, or at least they did at the time they drafted him. It was at least suggested by head coach Chan Gailey that he's fallen behind in terms of the playbook. All the long speed in the world won't help that.

Wide receiver Derek Hagan is also competing for playing time, and was taking a lot of snaps on the outside in practices while Stevie Johnson nursed a groin injury. Whether that continues in July and August will be a topic to watch as camp unfolds.

And we haven't even talked about Kamar Aiken, David Clowney, Ruvell Martin, Naaman Roosevelt or Derek Session. Clowney, Martin and Roosevelt have played in the NFL for a few years at least, with Aiken entering his second year and Session trying to crack the roster as an undrafted free agent.

The Bills have no shortage of options at receiver, but with so much untapped potential, they're surely hoping someone steps up in camp.

Erik Frenz is the AFC East lead blogger for Bleacher Report. Be sure to follow Erik on Twitter and "like" the AFC East blog on Facebook to keep up with all the updates.