The Buffalo Bills have four locks on their wide receiver depth chart and it’s quickly looking like a fifth has locked up his spot. When the Bills have kept six wide receivers in the past, that final spot is the one that’s up for grabs right now and it’s a doozy.
Stefon Diggs, Emmanuel Sanders, Cole Beasley, and Gabriel Davis had their spots locked down and Isaiah McKenzie quickly moved into the WR5 slot. Isaiah Hodgins, Jake Kumerow, and Marquez Stevenson were expected to compete for that final spot, and so far Kumerow is taking the bull by the horns.
On Saturday, Kumerow received some first-team reps with Stefon DIggs taking a veteran rest day, and he responded. He caught multiple passes including a nice touchdown pass from Josh Allen over Levi Wallace.
“Despite all the depth and competitions the wide receiver group has, it’s looking like it’s going to be very hard to keep him off the final 53-man roster. He continues to get open and make plays,” writes Sal Capaccio at WGR550.com
Matthew Fairburn at The Athletic was already singing Kumerow’s praises by Day 3 on Friday. With Diggs out on Saturday, he says Kumerow “took advantage”.
“He’s like an all-around good receiver in every aspect: blocking, catching, running after the catch,” cornerback Dane Jackson said after practice Saturday. “He just sneaks up on you, really. You don’t really see it off the rip, but when he’s out there running it’s like crazy. He can run, he can catch, he can do it all. His [6’4”] size is deceiving. You don’t think bigger guys are fast but he’s really fast. He gets up on you quick when you’re playing ff and when you’re pressing, he can take that speed release and he’s gone.”
Ryan Talbot of NYUP.com, Thad Brown of WROC in Rochester, and Greg Tompsett of Cover 1 were just some more of the names to highlight Kumerow on Twitter Saturday.
Green Bay quarterback Aaron Rodgers said Kumerow was the second-best wide receiver in training camp for the Packers a year ago. It seems like he’s picking up where he left off, at least in unpadded practices. It could shift the entire makeup of the roster in a month’s time.