2010 Buffalo Bills: The Wide Receiver Corps That Nobody Else Wanted
For the final three games of the 2010 season, the Buffalo Bills will be featuring four wide receivers on the active roster that includes one seventh-round draft pick, Steve Johnson, and three rookies that all went undrafted in the 2010 draft.
Has there ever been a group of receivers that had so little collective experience, or that went until the final round to be drafted, or bypassed completely?
The three undrafted rookies are Donald Jones (Youngstown State), David Nelson (University of Florida) and Naaman Roosevelt (University of Buffalo).
Of course this is not how the 2010 season began, as there were other receivers on the roster in training camp that included Lee Evans, Roscoe Parrish and James Hardy.
But injuries have forced the Bills to place Evans and Parrish on I.R. and Hardy was waived before the season began.
What a Difference a Year Makes
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When the Bills opened up the 2009 season, their wide receivers were: Terrell Owens, Lee Evans, Josh Reed, Roscoe Parrish and Steve Johnson. James Hardy was injured, and didn't surface until the final games of the season.
Owens was signed to a one year deal and departed after the season ended. The Bills parted ways with possession receiver Josh Reed, as they prepared to bring in some younger players for Chan Gailey's new offense.
Roscoe Parrish spent most of 2009 in head coach Dick Jauron's dog house, and Steve Johnson never saw the field very much. The focus for Trent Edwards and Ryan Fitzpatrick was on Terrell Owens, Lee Evans and Josh Reed. Owens and Evans had 12 of the 13 touchdowns that the wide receivers accounted for during the season. The other touchdown went to Josh Reed.
To show you how little the trio of Roscoe Parrish, Steve Johnson and James Hardy were in 2009 here are their receiving yards totals for the ENTIRE SEASON: Parrish (34) Johnson (10) Hardy (9).
The tight end position was also one of upheaval, as the group had Derek Schouman, Derek Fine, Jonathan Stupar, Shawn Nelson and Joe Klopfenstein. Only Stupar is currently active with the Bills, as the Bills just placed Nelson on the I.R.list and the other three were released.
Fast Forward To The Chan Gailey Offense
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2010 arrived and the Buffalo Bills were starting out their rebuilding effort under new General Manager Buddy Nix and head coach Chan Gailey.
Gailey was hired to turn around an anemic Bills' offense, that saw them ranked at the bottom of the NFL for several years in a row. Gailey came in and gave everybody on the roster a chance to compete for a roster spot. Buddy Nix meanwhile, was busy scouting all of the wide receivers that showed some promise.
Before training camp started, the Bills had already bid adieu to Terrell Owens and Josh Reed. James Hardy was given a chance to earn a job, but he couldn't stay healthy long enough to have any chance of making the team.
Purely by default and a degree of potential, the untested Steve Johnson was inserted into the starting lineup. Roscoe Parrish was allowed to contribute as the slot receiver and he flourished in the role. Well he was flourishing up until he dislocated his wrist trying to catch a pass on the sidelines in Toronto against the Chicago Bears.
Parrish went to the I.R. and the Bills were forced to rely on the combination of two undrafted rookies, Donald Jones and David Nelson, to fill the void. They have both delivered.
The Emergence Of Steve Johnson
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Wide receivers are thought to blossom in their third year in the NFL. Kind of like how MLB players have their peak seasons in the age range of 26-28. One of those axioms that seems to hold up over time.
Drafted by the Bills in 2008 with the 224th overall pick, Johnson was the 31st wide receiver to be drafted in that class, out of the total of 35 receivers that went in that draft. His rookie year totals were less than inspiring, 10 catches for 102 yards and two touchdowns, one from J.P. Losman and the other from Trent Edwards.
His second year was actually a drop in production, if that is possible, as is evidenced by the 10 yards in receptions.
So, coming in to his third season, nobody really knew what to expect from Steve Johnson. His 2009 season meant that he had no real level of expectations and that the rest of the league didn't know much about him either.
Johnson graduated from the University of Kentucky, where he only played his junior and senior years. His junior year resulted in some pedestrian numbers, 12 catches for 159 yards and one touchdown. His senior year saw a big uptick in production. Kentucky liked to throw the ball, as Johnson was one of four different receivers in his senior year that caught between 56 to 66 passes for the season. To his credit, Johnson led the receivers in yardage (1041), touchdowns (13) and average per catch (17.4) to go along with his 61 catches.
Despite that strong season, 30 other receivers were drafted ahead of him. Maybe he had a chip on his shoulder?
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So What Has Steve Johnson Done So Far In 2010 ?
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The 2010 season is truly a breakout campaign for Steve Johnson, Consider the following numbers:
Currently ranked No. 14 in NFL in reception yardage with 874 yards. Has 66 catches and averages 13.2 yards per catch.
His nine touchdowns are tied for fifth place in NFL, tied with the guy that took his playing time away last year, Terrell Owens.
Johnson has 348 yards gained after catches, (YAC), which ranks him 12th in the NFL in that category.
His 48 catches that resulted in a first down is good for 6th place in the NFL.
His five straight games catching a touchdown pass tied him for first place in Buffalo Bills team history.
He registered a three touchdown game game against Cincinnati in the Bills big second half comeback win.
Johnson has three games with over 100 yards this season; Cincinnati (8 for 137), Chicago (11 for 145) and Baltimore (8 for 158). Those are some good defenses that he did this against. Now that Lee Evans is on I.R., more focus will be placed on him, so it will be interesting to see what he does over the final three games.
David Nelson, Undrafted Rookie # 1
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David Nelson emerged out of training camp as the Bills fourth wide receiver behind Lee Evans, Roscoe Parrish and Steve Johnson. Nelson beat out James Hardy for the job, and in the process forced Naaman Roosevelt to begin the year on the practice squad.
During the first two weeks of the season, Trent Edwards was the starting quarterback, while Ryan Fitzpatrick worked with the second string guys. During that time period, he continued to develop his chemistry with David Nelson, which had started out in training camp.
Nelson earned a roster spot because he has great hands, runs very smooth routes, and is a big target at 6'6". He is not a home run type of receiver, but a solid possession receiver and is now demonstrating that he is a red zone threat as well. He has become what everyone envisioned James Hardy would become.
After catching his first NFL touchdown at Minnesota in Week 13, he followed it up by scoring last week again, this time against the Cleveland Browns. Now, with Lee Evans on I.R., there will be more responsibilities placed on Nelson's shoulders to produce.
For the season, he has caught 28 passes for 292 yards and the two touchdowns. Ryan Fitzpatrick looks for Nelson in crucial third and fourth down situations, as 16 of his 28 catches have resulted in first downs. That is very heady stuff for a rookie, especially one that agreed to try out with no job guarantees.
Nelson has been in the spotlight before, but more of a supporting cast kind of guy. He caught passes from some guy named Tim Tebow at the University of Florida. Nelson was part of the 2007 and 2009 national championship teams.
His playing time and production went up as he went along at Florida. 2007—four catches for 35 yards and no TDs, 2008—12 catches for 228 yards and five TD's and in 2009—25 catches for 291 yards and two TDs. There were a number of weapons to throw to at Florida and Nelson seemed to be caught in a numbers game.
Donald Jones, Undrafted Rookie # 2
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Donald Jones made the team out of training camp due to his ability to produce on special teams. His focus was solely that of special teams member, until Roscoe Parrish went down with an injury in Toronto against the Chicago Bears.
Jones stepped in for Parrish, and caught his first NFL pass. He has now gone on to be a member of both the special teams unit as well as a member of the offense. Jones has caught passes in six straight games. For the year, he has 12 catches for 130 yards and one touchdown.
His biggest game came against the Cincinnati Bengals, when he had a season high five catches for 70 yards and his first NFL touchdown.
Jones is 6'0" and weighs 214. He is a physical runner after the catch, ala Stevie Johnson. He has made some big hits on special teams, but is now looking at the most extended playing time as a receiver he has seen all year, due to the Lee Evans injury. It will be interesting to see how Jones handles the pressure of trying to fill the shoes of Lee Evans and/or Parrish. The experience will do wonders for his maturity and growth in the NFL and for the Buffalo Bills.
At Youngstown State, Jones led the Penguins with 77 catches, good for 798 yards and six touchdowns. But the thing that caught Buddy Nix's eye when he watched Jones on tape was his blocking skills. So when the seventh round was completed and Jones was still a free agent, Nix convinced him to sign with the Bills. The rest is history, recognizing that most of Jones' story still needs to unfold.
Naaman Roosevelt, Undrafted Rookie # 3
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Naaman Roosevelt is a local product out of the Buffalo Bills backyard. Roosevelt graduated from the University of Buffalo in 2009, and along with running back James Starks, the top two offensive players from the UB Bulls were looking to extend their football careers past the collegiate level.
While Starks was drafted by the Green Bay Packers in the sixth round, his teammate Roosevelt didn't fare as well, going through the entire draft without anyone selecting him. That didn't mean he was unnoticed, because the Buffalo Bills contacted Roosevelt shortly after the draft concluded and asked him if he would like to try out for the team.
Roosevelt was a victim of the final round of cuts, but was brought back to the Bills as a member of the practice squad. He remained as a member of the practice squad until the Bills brought him up to the active roster for the Week 12 game against Pittsburgh.
So far, Roosevelt has yet to become involved in the offense, but now that Lee Evans is on I.R., it will be Roosevelt's turn to produce when the Bills go to their four wide receiver sets. Roosevelt is not as big or as physical as some of the other Bills receivers, as he is 6'0" tall but weighs just 189.
At UB, Roosevelt was second in receiving his freshman year, but went on to leading the Bulls in receiving his final three years. His junior year was his best season from a numbers standpoint, when he put up 104 catches for 1402 yards, and 13 touchdowns. He followed that up as a senior with 70 catches for 954 yards and another nine touchdowns. His longest catch went for 76 yards, so he is more of a home run threat.
Speaking of home run threats:
Marcus Easley: Missed Entire Rookie Season Due to I.R.
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We would be remiss if we didn't include a blurb about a wide receiver that the Bills actually drafted higher than the seventh round. The player in question is Marcus Easley, and he was the Bills fourth round pick in the past draft.
Easley never saw the field as a Bills rookie because he suffered a severe knee injury in late August that caused him to be placed on I.R., prematurely ending his rookie season.
Easley is a big receiver at 6'3" and 210 pounds. He is fast and is a home run threat. He is averaging over 18 yards per catch while being a one year wonder at the University of Connecticut. He really didn't materialize there until his senior year because he had been a walk-on player.
Hopefully Easley will return at full strength next year and ready to compete for a roster spot with the other talented Bills young receivers. It is looking more and more that Chan Gailey will have some interesting decisions to make when it comes time to do roster cuts in 2011 for the Bills wide receiver corps.
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