Undrafted Journeyman WR Chris Hogan Taking on Big Role for Bills Offense

Buffalo Bills wide receiver Chris Hogan, a former undrafted free agent out of Monmouth University in New Jersey, may not be a household name. But Hogan was the Bills' leading receiver Thursday night against the Miami Dolphins, catching seven passes for 74 total yards and connecting with Kyle Orton on three third-down conversions. 

It was the most receptions he has had in any game of his NFL career. 

Hogan was signed by the San Francisco 49ers after the 2011 NFL draft. He was released that September and, a week later, signed to the New York Giants' practice squad, but failed to make the active roster. 

Then it was to Miami, where Hogan, as a member of the Miami Dolphins' practice squad, was featured on the HBO series Hard Knocks, where he earned the nickname "7-Eleven"—because he was "always open."

The Bills had a little fun with that on Twitter Thursday night. 

Being consistently open was apparently not enough to convince Miami that Hogan deserved a spot on the roster, however. His practice-squad contract was terminated in September 2012. 

Finally, Hogan's career began to gain traction when he was signed to the Bills' practice squad in November 2012 and promoted to the active roster the following month. 

Hogan was active in 16 games in the 2013-14 season but caught just 10 passes. This season, however, Hogan has received more and more snaps and has rewarded head coach Doug Marrone for it. 

Hogan caught his first career touchdown in Week 6 against the division rival New England Patriots in a game in which he had five receptions for 72 yards. His stock has continued to rise since then—he has had more than 50 yards in three of the last four games—and Orton has continued to give him more looks. 

The scrappy 6'1", 220-pound receiver was initially pegged for the slot; he's incredibly fast. He ran a 4.47 40-yard dash and "blew away the competition in the other speed drills" at Fordham's pro day in 2011, per Mike Garafolo of The Star-Ledger. 

But Marrone has been so impressed with his drive and performance that he has given him more matchups on the outside. 

“We got to where it was, hey, maybe we can move him into the slot, maybe we can move out to (wide receiver), see if he can win the man-to-man matchups you need to be successful," Marrone said this week, per Brian Biggane of The Palm Beach Post. "We like the way he’s progressing."

What's not to like? Hogan has had more receiving yards in three of the Bills' last five games than their No. 1 draft pick, per ESPN.com's Mike Rodak. 

It may not be remotely close to how the Bills drew things up this offseason when they traded up for Watkins, but the offensive production has to come from somewhere. Hogan has scored twice this season and, judging from his comments over the last couple months, Marrone is happy to give him additional chances. 

As Bills Insider Chris Brown revealed in a recent profile on Hogan, though he had offers to play college football at the Division I level, Hogan ultimately chose to attend Penn State on a lacrosse scholarship. But when he began to have regrets about turning down football his senior year, he made a plan to play football at the graduate level after graduating from Penn State. 

One of the schools that expressed interest was Syracuse—with a coach named Doug Marrone. Per Brown, Syracuse's wide receivers coach—Rob Moore, the Bills' current wide receivers coach—spoke with Hogan about joining the team, but NCAA rules ultimately prevented him from playing for another Division I school. Thus, Monmouth University.

Now, years later, Hogan is finally playing for Moore and Marrone, and he's thriving. 

It may have taken longer than usual for Hogan's NFL career to get off the ground, but as he continues to turn in consistently productive performances with Buffalo, it's finally taking flight.