Can Evans build chemistry with QB Edwards? (Photo Source)

Prior to the 2008 NFL Draft - in fact, prior to the free agent signing period of this past March - we took a look at the Buffalo Bills' roster position by position, breaking down then-current personnel, finding holes, and building our community needs list.

Now that free agency and the Draft have been completed, and the Bills have infused their roster with new talent, it's time to repeat our process.  Where has Buffalo gotten better?  Where have they gotten worse?  How will additions impact which Bills veterans remain on the roster?  These are questions that we'll attempt to answer over the next week or so.

We continue those discussions today with an examination of Buffalo's wide receiver corps.  To view our previous discussions on Buffalo's WR situation (pre-off-season), bang it here.

Lee Evans: Buffalo's top receiver suffered a steep statistical drop-off in 2007, catching just 55 passes for 849 yards and 5 touchdowns.  Part of that drop-off may be directly attributed to the shuffling of quarterbacks, with another portion attributed to the seemingly constant double teams that Evans faced all season.  Entering the "final" year of his rookie contract (he's signed through 2010, but the final year can be voided), Evans faces a lot of pressure to get the big pay day he wants anywhere, let alone Buffalo.  The big question is whether or not he can assimilate to yet another full-time starting quarterback change.

Josh Reed: Reed's problem is not opportunity; he caught 51 passes last season and was a nice safety valve on underneath and possession throws for Edwards.  The big problem with Reed is that he just doesn't score - he's scored eight touchdowns in six NFL seasons, and did not score last season.  Expect more of the same from Reed this season - he'll catch 3 or 4 passes a game, mostly on third downs, and we'll be lucky to see him score a touchdown or two.  There's a place on this team for Reed for now, but if the Bills can find a slot receiver who can score more frequently, it's a better situation for the team.

Roscoe Parrish: No, Parrish is not that slot receiver who can score.  Perhaps it's from a lack of opportunity, but Parrish himself has only scored four receiving touchdowns in three seasons of NFL work.  Easily Buffalo's most quick and elusive receiver, Parrish's true value comes as a punt returner, but he should continue to see work in Buffalo's offense as an alternative slot option.  Keep an eye on whether or not Parrish gets suspended prior to the season; he was arrested for a DUI earlier this off-season and may see punishment from Commissioner Goodell.

Justin Jenkins: After starting the '07 season on the practice squad, Jenkins was called up to the active roster after injuries to Peerless Price and Sam Aiken.  He provides very little from an offensive standpoint, but Jenkins surprised as a special teams ace and became one of Buffalo's better performers in that area, especially as a punt gunner.  If he makes the roster - and he has a very good shot at doing so - it will be as one of the Bills' key special teams cogs.

Scott Mayle: Spent most of '07 on the practice squad and was called up to the big roster for the final regular season game in Philadelphia.  A longshot to make the roster, but Bills coaches like his speed.

Felton Huggins: An even longer shot to make the roster, Huggins was released prior to the regular season and brought back on to the practice squad for the last ten games of the season.  Unlike the rest of the incumbents on the roster at WR, Huggins has some size (6'2", 186).

The Additions: James Hardy, Steve Johnson, Jason Jones
Clearly, the "big" addition to this unit was second round draft pick James Hardy, a 6'5" scoring machine from Indiana.  Hardy will start as a rookie next to Evans, and while there isn't a ton of pressure on him to produce above-average rookie receiver numbers, he will be counted on to score in the red zone and free up the middle of the field for the rest of Buffalo's receivers.

Johnson and Jones are intriguing names as well - Johnson, a seventh round pick, has the size the Bills coveted at the position and could develop into a heck of a slot option in time.  Jones is a record-setting Division I-AA receiver from Arkansas Pine-Bluff that's extremely raw, but has a shot at sticking with the organization on the practice squad.

The Subtractions: Peerless Price, Sam Aiken
This duo won't be missed.  Price, who spent most of '07 on IR, made one big play in his second stint with the Bills (a game-winning score in Houston) and otherwise was mediocre.  Aiken was an excellent special teams coverage man for the Bills, but never provided anything offensively and wasn't worth keeping around.  Their departures will have little to no negative impact on the receiving corps.

Pre-Season Outlook: Buffalo is bigger and younger at wide receiver, and it's still very uncertain as to whether that's a good or a bad thing.  At the very least, the team is far more talented at the position, and the players that have been brought in - specifically Hardy and possibly Johnson - have a chance to work with Edwards right out of the gate.  That will help their chemistry.

At a minimum, five receivers will be kept, but with such youth and inexperience at the position, it's more likely that six receivers will stick on the '08 roster.  Predicting that Jenkins stays as a special teams player, that leaves guys like Johnson, Mayle, Huggins and Jones to fight it out for one (potential) roster spot.

Change: Youth and size.

As always, your thoughts on Buffalo's wide receiver position are welcome and encouraged in the comments section.

UDFA Viti a special teams candidate, too (Photo Source)

Feel free to question the strategy. Go ahead, do it. The Buffalo Bills don't care. Why would a team that has not made the NFL's playoffs since 1999 spend half of its most important draft in the Dick Jauron era bolstering special teams, when there are serious questions to be answered offensively and defensively?

Well, special teams are the identity of the Buffalo Bills. They have been since the days when Marv Levy roamed the sidelines as Buffalo's head coach. Those sentiments returned to the team psyche when Levy returned as the Bills' General Manager. The Bills have had one of the most consistent and dominant special teams units this decade, and it's because the team focuses on building the unheralded unit far more closely than most other NFL franchises.

Bills Lose Core of ST Foundation
Imagine Buffalo's defense in the "glory years" without Bruce Smith, Darryl Talley, Cornelius Bennett, Nate Odomes and Henry Jones. Those players were the core of a pretty good unit - a consistent unit. The Bills, in this off-season alone, lost their special teams versions of those five guys when Ryan Neufeld, Sam Aiken, Mario Haggan, Josh Stamer and unit captain Coy Wire were released or allowed to walk. The consistency of the unit was in serious jeopardy when those five guys - central to coordinator Bobby April's plan for the last four years - left the franchise.

Sure, there were still solid players for the unit. The team still has two elite return threats in Terrence McGee and Roscoe Parrish. They have some veteran players, such as Jabari Greer and Bryan Scott, who made their mark early in their careers with stellar special teams play. They have a young quartet of players with promising special teams careers ahead of them in John Wendling, Keith Ellison, George Wilson and Justin Jenkins.

Still, the core was missing. The Bills chose to replace that core through the draft. It may pay big dividends.

What's Been Added
The one player poised to make the biggest difference on special teams as a rookie is, not surprisingly, first-round pick Leodis McKelvin. A star punt returner in college with home run ability on kick returns as well, McKelvin gives the Bills three outstanding return threats - two each at kick and punt returner. Having those options available helps in two ways - it keeps our return men fresher for their regular roles, and it makes it all the more difficult to game plan for Buffalo for opposing special teams coordinators. Buffalo's return game may be scarier than the one that Hester character heads up in Chicago with McKelvin on board.

Additionally, the Bills have drafted three players - CB Reggie Corner, TE Derek Fine and LB Alvin Bowen - who figure to play all four special teams units right out of the gate. These are smart, tough, athletic players with the perfect work ethic and mentality to excel on special teams, and their versatility throughout the kicking game makes them all the more attractive. Add these three rookies to current "ace" specialists Wendling and Jenkins (who will probably make the roster on his special teams abilities alone), and the Bills seem to have replaced their old five-man core with a younger, healthier and more athletic quintet. Even undrafted free agent fullback Mike Viti (pictured above, left), a 5'9", 245-pound bowling ball of a blocker, has a shot at contributing early.

So debate the strategy if you feel you must. Again, the Bills don't care. No NFL team pays closer attention to what has been their most consistent unit of the decade, and after a productive draft that adds explosive talent, the Bills' bread and butter is looking more edible than ever.