Parrish, position mates have upside as a unit (Photo Source)

So I was searching through some vintage Rumblings, and one thing that struck me was the look of the Buffalo Bills' wide receiver position. Last year the Bills kept five receivers: Lee Evans, Peerless Price, Roscoe Parrish, Josh Reed, and Clay Sam Aiken. When looking at that group of guys I don't see a very bright future; of course, that is easy to say knowing how the year played out, but even then it was tough to see a bright future. Lee Evans is Lee Evans, a solid, border line true blue #1 receiver; Roscoe is a terrific slot receiver; and Josh Reed is an average at best receiver (I'll say at best an average receiver to make Superfan82 happy).  After that, neither Price nor Aiken offered much in the way of upside.

One year later, it's a much different story. The three best from last year - the same three with the best upside and talent - remain, and the newcomers to the roster all show tremendous potential.

James Hardy: The Bills' second round draft choice out of Indiana has the size and ability to be a huge playmaker in the NFL. He could be starting opposite Evans before the year is out, and probably will be sooner than that.

Justin Jenkins: A special teamer a year ago, Jenkins saw limited time at the end of the year and has distinguished himself as a special teams ace, as well as a guy who can play the position of receiver - something that Aiken could never do.

Steve Johnson: The second of the Bills' three seventh round draft picks this year, Johnson displayed good size and hands during the preseason and earned himself a roster spot for his efforts.

Felton Huggins: I'm writing this with the assumption that Huggins will make the practice squad, given that he was there last year. Huggins looked as just as good as Johnson did this pre-season, and if the Bills had chosen to keep Huggins over Johnson I don't think any of us would have been totally shocked.

Huggins' presence on the practice squad is worth mentioning because of his potential, and that is essentially the point I'm trying to make here: potential is something that the Bills' receiving corps suddenly has a ton of.  In trying to look ahead to next year's group, the Bills will have Evans (assuming he signs that extention we keep hearing is so close), Roscoe, Hardy, Reed (unless the Bills make Superfan82's decade by cutting him), Johnson, Jenkins, and Huggins. In other words, the Bills could have the same guys coming into camp next year, and we don't see it as a BAD thing.

That's a nice change for this team to make - and what's more, it's important to have upside amongst a group that needs to grow with its young quarterback, Trent Edwards.  This is an exciting receiving corps.

  QB Edwards a game-time decision (Photo Source)

The Buffalo Bills close out their pre-season schedule tonight in their first real home game, in which they'll take on the (undefeated) Detroit Lions.  After playing extensively just four days ago, Buffalo's starters are only expected to play a series or two as the coaching staff allows younger players to compete for final roster spots.  The Bills must reduce their roster to 53 players on Saturday.

Your humble narrator will be attending tonight's festivities in person, checking out our newly upgraded seats at good old Ralph Wilson Stadium.  I'm excited - and not just because of the seats.  I have plenty to keep an eye out for tonight; here, in a more specific manner, is what I'll be watching for:

Trent Edwards? Please?
Look, I'm all for keeping a guy healthy, but since the starters are only going a series or two tonight, I really hope Trent Edwards plays.  Buffalo's starting quarterback is a game-time decision with a thigh contusion that held him out of the win over Indianapolis; Tom Brady and Peyton Manning might be able to skip the pre-season and not miss a beat, but I highly doubt Edwards is in the same boat.  Even a series or two helps kick off a little more rust before we take on Seattle.

Wright vs. Omon
My guess is that these two guys are going to play the majority of the game, with Bruce Hall getting work at third down back.  A roster spot is on the line for Buffalo's two young running backs.  So, naturally, I'll be paying attention to their special teams integration as well as how they tote the rock.  For the record, I'm pulling for Wright.  I think he's got a chance to be a good back.  I want to trust him again, and I think the Bills do too.

The Replacements
No, I'm not talking about the crappy Keanu Reeves flick made worse by John Madden's cameo (though Rhys Ifans is excellent in that film).  At least one key player (LT Langston Walker) is not expected to play in this game, and other players such as receivers Josh Reed, James Hardy and Roscoe Parrish could miss the game as well (and that's just me speculating - I expect we'll know more later on today).  That means young guys like Demetrius Bell, Justin Jenkins and Felton Huggins are going to see time quite early.  If they perform well, they'll probably make the team.  (Not that two of the three I mentioned here aren't virtual locks already).

Chris Ellis
Let's face it - guys like Aaron Schobel, Chris Kelsay and Ryan Denney aren't going to see a ton of time tonight.  Chris Ellis, on the other hand, will.  I haven't paid as much attention to him this pre-season as I've liked to (though I've enjoyed what I've seen of him thus far), so he'll be my primary focus on defense tonight.

The Cornerback Carousel
I don't expect much to change in terms of the cornerback depth chart based on tonight's game, but this is the last chance for guys like Ashton Youboty and Reggie Corner to make some plays - and with them, a serious attempt at a move up the depth chart.  I enjoy watching all of Buffalo's cornerbacks play (save Leodis McKelvin last week), so their play should be charted closely tonight as well.

Special Teams
There isn't a better indicator of who is making a late move up the depth chart than who is playing where on special teams.  I'm going to do my best to keep track of coverage units and playmakers on special teams tonight.  Bobby April has a lot of pull when it comes to those last few roster spots, so anyone who stands out tonight has a pretty good shot of at least warranting serious roster consideration.

Regrettably, as I'll be at The Ralph, I will be unable to join you in tonight's open game thread.  I will be in contact via email at The Ralph, so if you're bored (and if you're in the open thread, you probably won't be), fire me a question and I'll try to get back to you promptly.  Tonight's open thread will open at 6, approximately a half-hour before the game is set to kick off.

Just get through tonight, folks.  Regular season football is just around the corner.

DT Williams fighting off S. Johnson for starting role (Photo Source)

The Buffalo Bills have made the trip to Indianapolis, where they are set to take on the Colts in tonight's pre-season game at the newly constructed - and absolutely gorgeous - Lucas Oil Stadium.  The Bills will be without three key players - QB Trent Edwards, WR James Hardy and WR Roscoe Parrish - for this matchup, and the Colts are missing some starters as well, most prominently QB Peyton Manning.

Despite the starters missing the one pre-season game that's important to a team's growth - especially a team as young as the Bills - there will still be some positional battles and players in unique positions that we'll be keeping an eye on.  We sincerely hope that you'll join us for tonight's open thread; here's what we'll be watching for:

Hamdan vs. Baker: It has become excruciatingly obvious that the Bills will be relying on J.P. Losman as a starting option at some point during the 2008 season.  With that in mind, it's probably high time to start paying a bit more attention to the battle for the team's third quarterback spot raging between Gibran Hamdan and Matt Baker.  One of these guys might actually be our primary backup for stretches during this season.  It is prudent, therefore, to know a bit more about these two players.

Dwayne Wright: He's 2/2 this pre-season; unlike in baseball, that's not a good thing - Wright has fumbled in each of this pre-season's two games.  Rookie sixth-round pick Xavier Omon is far more than just a challenger to Wright's job as the third back now.  Wright has looked good running the ball, but he needs to protect the rock, or he won't be a part of this final roster.

Jenkins, Huggins and Johnson: We can only guess, but we're predicting that Josh Reed - due to the problems he's had with his lower back - won't play as much as the rest of the starters tonight.  Lee Evans might not see a huge work load either, though he's expected to play much of the first half.  With Hardy and Parrish out, we're going to see a lot of playing time for the three receivers fighting for one to two spots - Justin Jenkins, Felton Huggins and rookie Steve Johnson.  The time is now for them to prove that they belong on this team.

Langston Walker: Dwight Freeney is making his first start of the pre-season tonight for Indianapolis, and with that, Walker faces by far his stiffest challenge since his move from right to left tackle.  Walker handled Jason Taylor relatively well in Washington, but Freeney steps the challenge up a notch.  We're expecting Ron From NM to keep an eye on #68, but we'll be watching closely as well.

Demetrius Bell: See Walker, but substitute Freeney's name for any of a number of the Colts' reserve ends who have ridiculous speed, most prominently rookie Marcus Howard.  I'm very intrigued with this kid, as most of you know, and he'll get tested tonight.

Williams vs. Johnson (vs. McCargo?): Apparently, there's a battle raging for the starting tackle spot next to Marcus Stroud, and the two main combatants are Kyle Williams and Spencer Johnson.  The winner of the battle's title may in reality be only a figurehead position, but we've spent enough time with our eyes glued to Marcus Stroud this pre-season to know he's legit; it's time to get more familiar with his running mates.

Angelo Crowell: Buffalo's starting strong-side linebacker makes his 2008 pre-season debut tonight.  Will he look rusty?  How does he look in pass coverage?  How will he operate next to, in essence, two new teammates in Paul Posluszny and Kawika Mitchell?  Well, that's why we're watching him tonight.

Cornerback rotation: The third pre-season game is followed swiftly by initial roster cut-downs and the fourth pre-season game - this coming Thursday against the Lions - so Buffalo's cornerback battle is about to get furiously heated.  Ashton Youboty will again get most of our focus, but we're expecting Leodis McKelvin to take a step forward in the competition tonight as well.

Evans (83), wideouts impressive in victory (Photo Source)

The Buffalo Bills are back on the practice field and in the film room, and just like the Bills, we'll be breaking down a little film today.  I found some time this weekend to re-watch the first half of Buffalo's pre-season win over Pittsburgh, and trust me - it was as enjoyable to watch them "on film" as it was to watch the game live Thursday night.

Here are some general observations that I made - and hope you find useful - from Thursday's win:

Quarterbacks: What else can you say about Trent Edwards' performance (9/11, 104 yards, 2 TD)?  Unlike in Washington, where I saw Edwards make a few bad reads, I didn't see a single poor decision from Edwards Thursday night.  What made him click was the rhythm to the offense - Trent is at his absolute best when he's in sync with his receivers (which goes for any NFL quarterback), and his rhythm was perfect Thursday night.  Edwards may not have the strongest arm in the world, but he's clearly got enough zip on his throws to squeeze a pass between three defenders in the end zone.  That's strong enough for me.  If Edwards can play consistently near the level he displayed Thursday night (asking him to play at that level might be pushing it), this is a playoff team.

Running Backs: Marshawn Lynch looked quick, explosive and powerful.  He also had a superb blitz pickup on Edwards' first score of the evening, and did a nice impression of run blocking for Edwards on his 22-yard scramble.  Fred Jackson was Fred Jackson - more powerful than he looks (with great balance - see his screen reception) and one heck of a receiver.  I think it's pretty clear that rookie sixth-round pick Xavier Omon has leapfrogged Dwayne Wright on the depth chart - Omon is still better in pass protection and doesn't seem to have quite the fumbling issue that Wright does.  It's a pity, too - Wright ran the ball really well on Thursday night (not that Omon didn't), and his fumble really negated all of the excellent things he put together.

Wide Receivers: I thought Buffalo's wideouts were superb.  Few NFL receivers can run a route like Lee Evans when he's on his game.  He's so dangerous as a deep threat that he can get 18-20 yards downfield, stop on a dime, and be wide open.  If Edwards has the time to throw that he did on Thursday throughout this season, Evans is going to have a big year.  He might have a big year otherwise.  Roscoe Parrish looked good in my estimation, too - he needs to learn to run after the catch more like Evans in certain situations (like getting out of bounds in the two-minute drill), but it's clear that Turk Schonert is concentrating hard on getting him the ball this season.  I also like what I've seen out of Felton Huggins - he's a bit more well-rounded at this point than Steve Johnson, and I actually feel that if the Bills were to keep six receivers, Huggins might edge the rookie out.

Tight Ends/Fullbacks: Well, Robert Royal was the star (and by the way - this guy blocks like an offensive tackle when he wants to), but I still think I'm most impressed by Derek Fine.  Royal looked better than I've ever seen him catching the ball; maybe this is the season in which he's not a total liability as a pass-catcher for the offense.  Fine is a smooth athlete - he's not the fastest guy in the world (not even close), but he looks good running routes and especially in motion and working out of the slot.  He looks far more natural than any of his tight end peers; if things go well, I'm going to say he's the team's starter at tight end in 2009.

Offensive Line: I don't have much to add to Ron from NM, our resident O-Line guru; I will say that I was impressed once again by Demetrius Bell.  I wasn't sure how he'd hold up against a 3-4 defense (the toughest to pass protect against by far), but he showed that he's athletic enough to handle the speed rush at the NFL level.  He had a lot of help from tight end Courtney Anderson at times, but in all, it was an impressive performance for a guy who's only been playing football since 2005.  He's got a future.

Defensive Line: I dedicated most of my work on the defensive line to watching Marcus Stroud, and more specifically, how the Steelers dealt with him.  Stroud was on the field for 12 defensive plays - 8 passes and 4 runs.  On the eight passes (one a screen pass), Stroud was double-teamed twice.  Of the six pass plays he was single-teamed, he was able to create significant pressure on Ben Roethlisberger twice.  He was also tripped/blatantly held once as well.  Of the four run plays, he was double-teamed three times; the one time he wasn't, he crashed the line and made the tackle.  He is, quite simply, a force to be reckoned with - and while he can be handled by one blocker on occasion, that's usually not the case.  It's quite fun to watch that man play football.

Linebackers: Overall, this unit performed better than they did in Washington, but I still wasn't all that impressed.  Granted, the unit has been without Angelo Crowell for two games, so they're bound to improve when he returns to the lineup.  Kawika Mitchell was impressive against the run, and Paul Posluszny was solid as usual.  My problem is with Keith Ellison.  He just isn't physical enough to be good against the run; he can mop up when a running back is channeled to him, but what linebacker can't?  He's also consistently out of position dropping back into coverage, though that isn't specific just to Ellison.  Buffalo's defense struggles mightily with slant routes and the skinny post, and it's because the linebackers struggle moving backwards and the corners don't jam often.  I'm starting to think that the Bills concentrate on linebacker early in next year's draft, but the unit is scrappy and talented enough to be getting on with for now.

Defensive Backs: They weren't great.  Ko Simpson made an excellent play on a Roethlisberger pass that was eventually picked off by Donte Whitner; Whitner and the rest of his safety-mates looked good in run support as well.  Whitner in particular made a nice play at the line of scrimmage, an encouraging sign to be certain.  The pass coverage, in general, was weak; when there was no pass rush to be had, the Bills got gouged pretty badly (again, not a huge surprise).  I was particularly disappointed by Will James' performance - he tackled very poorly, took poor angles, and allowed a tight reception to Hines Ward on an excellent sideline throw under duress by Roethlisberger.  He'll need to pick his play up to hang on to the nickel job.

Leodis McKelvin and Ashton Youboty were the second-team corners (behind starters Terrence McGee and Jabari Greer), and the duo took their lumps, Youboty in particular.  Obviously, Youboty and free safety George Wilson gave up a long touchdown throw to Santonio Holmes; it was called a blown coverage on the broadcast, but it looked more like a disguised Cover 3 to me.  The Bills lined up in a Cover 2 look, but prior to the snap, SS Bryan Scott crept up to the line of scrimmage.  Buffalo's two corners and Wilson were to man the deep portion of the field in a three-man zone shell, but it didn't look like Youboty got as deep as he should have - he may have been peeking into the offensive backfield.  The result was that Holmes burned Youboty, and Wilson just missed making up for the gaffe.  (This was different than my viewpoint in the Open Game Thread, so I wanted to rectify my error here.)

Special Teams: Obviously, McKelvin's 95-yard touchdown kickoff return was the highlight and was an excellent individual play.  Outside of that return, however, the Bills' return game was rather pedestrian - Pittsburgh's punters did a nice job stalemating the punt return game, and the kickoffs never really got going outside of the touchdown play.  There's work to be done in that department.  McKelvin needs to learn to trust his wedge more often, and the wedge blockers themselves need to be more... well... wedge-y.

There was one change in terms of the starting kick coverage unit - Youboty replaced Will James, who was among that unit in Washington, and Youboty made a nice tackle on the second kickoff of the game.  Clearly, the Bills are sliding him up the depth chart in an attempt to find a way to keep him on the roster; he performed poorly defensively, but outside of McGee, he's the best tackler in Buffalo's secondary.  When Derek Schouman went down with his knee injury, fullback Darian Barnes took his spot on the kick coverage units.

Rookies Steve Johnson and Kennard Cox were the second-team punt gunners, and Johnson looked pretty good in this role.  If he's going to make the team, however, he'll need to show more than Huggins has in this role - and comparing notes from last pre-season, Huggins is still better in this role.

We'll discuss the second half of this game in our Second Half Film Session tomorrow afternoon.

Bills rookie CB Reggie Corner (Photo Source)

Note: Apologies for the lateness of this entry, folks.  The Bills' quick turnaround between pre-season games prevented me from getting to this until yesterday; rest assured that we'll go over the Bills/Steelers game ASAP, with the first half Film Session post coming tomorrow morning.

Yes, the Bills have already played another pre-season game, but that doesn't mean that our Film Session review of the second half of their first pre-season game won't come without valuable tidbits.  I've already broken down some of the Bills' win over the Steelers, but for the sake of chronology, we'll cover the second half of their loss to the 'Skins first.  Rather than making general observations about each position, I'll point out some things I noticed about individual players (this will be specific to pre-season games only).  Enjoy...

Dick Jauron: Whoops.  Guess we'll start with Buffalo's head coach first.  I found this curious: Dick looked murderous after RB Dwayne Wright's second-half fumble; he clapped his hands encouragingly (while still looking pretty miffed) after RB Xavier Omon's fumble.  Just an interesting fact to add to the facts in the competition for the third RB job.

Gibran Hamdan: I wasn't all that impressed.  He made some nice throws underneath and looks like a smart enough guy.  His accuracy on deep balls isn't great, and he looks jittery from time to time in the pocket.  He's light years better than Matt Baker, but I still don't think Gibran is a mortal lock to make the final roster.

Xavier Omon: This kid looks good.  He's already as tough as Wright in the run game, but he's more physical picking up the blitz.  On two plays in Washington, Omon made thumping good hits to completely erase Redskins blitzers.  That was unexpected from Omon coming from Division II.  Quite the pleasant surprise.

Demetrius Bell: Bell has got a future.  His athleticism is great - he's got quick feet and quicker hands.  Not surprisingly, he still struggles a bit technique-wise and with more physical players; I saw him get knocked backwards more than once by a solid punch.  He looks a bit tentative at times as well - but don't mistake that for his being passive.  He looks like he could be counted on as a reserve this season.

Duke Preston: My stomach lurched a bit on one play, where Preston was blown five yards backwards into his own backfield, but otherwise, I didn't think he looked too bad.  Granted, he was playing second and third team linemen from Washington.  I think his versatility keeps him on this team for another year.

Matt Murphy: It's a pity Murphy got hurt, because I thought he looked pretty solid at both left and right tackle.  He'd have made a fine third tackle in the event that Jason Peters' holdout extends into the regular season.  Alas, the 2007 injury bug waited around for Murphy as well.

Derek Fine: Buffalo's rookie tight end is easily the team's most natural receiver at the position.  He just looks comfortable running routes and catching the football; I think by mid-season, he's playing a prominent second fiddle to Robert Royal.  Derek Schouman appears to be all hype at this point.

Steve Johnson: I liked what I saw out of Buffalo's other rookie receiver as a run blocker; he's a tough shed in the slot.  He flashed good hands as well.  I don't know if we've seen enough out of him on special teams, however, to say that he's got a shot at the final roster.  In fact, I'd say that Felton Huggins has a better shot at the final roster than Johnson at this point, because Huggins is a better deep threat.

Chris Ellis: One one running play, Ellis completely blew up the Redskins' entire blocking scheme with outstanding penetration; he was blatantly held on the play as a result.  I'm going to be honest - I thought Ellis was Buffalo's most impressive rookie in Washington.  He's still green and needs another pass rush move or two for his repertoire, but I think if things go well this season he could be starting next to Aaron Schobel in '09.

Marcus Buggs: UDFA LB Buggs is small, but packs a nice punch.  He was solid in the team's goal line stand in the fourth quarter.  He looks good on special teams as well.  He may just beat out Blake Costanzo for the final roster spot at LB if the team keeps a seventh.

Reggie Corner: He took some lumps, but he also made some great plays.  For a guy nobody knew about exiting the draft, he looks very natural - and very quick - on the field.  Another solid find by Buffalo's scouting department.

Leodis McKelvin: I'm not worried about McKelvin's cover skills; those are already solid, and they'll get much better.  I focused instead on his tackling - and it's not great.  McKelvin is physical and willing to risk his body to make a tough play, but his tackling from a technique standpoint is quite poor.  It's this fact that might prevent him from sneaking in nickel reps, at least initially, in the regular season - Buffalo's nickel back must be a good tackler in Perry Fewell's system.

I have some notes on some other players, but they're not necessarily worth posting here.  Saw some good things out of Buffalo's youngsters, though, in particular Bell, Omon, Ellis and Corner.  Again, we'll have more Film Session stuff to discuss tomorrow morning as we break down the first half of the Bills' victory over Pittsburgh.

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.