The Buffalo Bills entered the current season knowing that they are playing under the pressure of the “Super Bowl or Bust” label. With reigning MVP quarterback Josh Allen in his eighth season and turning 30 next year, the Bills are in the midst of the most dominant period in the last 30 years of their existence as a franchise.
The Bills have been in the playoffs six straight years, and have advanced to the AFC conference final twice in that span, including last year. But they have not set foot on a Super Bowl field since January 30, 1994.
Coming out of their bye week, the Bills have lost two straight and have surrendered first place in the AFC East to the resurgent New England Patriots. On Tuesday, Bills expert Joe Marino, host of the Locked on Bills podcast, outlined a program of nine steps that he says the Bills need to make over the next few weeks to get themselves back on track and nail down the division, as well as prepare themselves for a Super Bowl postseason run.
Bills Must Trade for ‘Field Stretcher’
The final and most dramatic step pushed by Marino â a trade.
Marino said that the Bills must target a wide receiver, and not just any pass catcher, but a “field stretcher.” In other words, a speed-oriented receiver who can get downfield in a hurry, allowing Allen more consistent targets for the deep passes he throws more frequently than the vast majority of NFL quarterbacks â too often without success.
As Marino notes, “over the last three games, Josh Allen has thrown the ball down the field a lot more. 16 1/2 percent of his throws have been 20 yards or more down the field. That’s the third highest rate in the NFL. He’s four of 13 for 108 yards and two picks.”
Though he acknowledged in the Tuesday podcast that the Bills have greater needs on defense than on the offensive side of the ball, the team has “a path” to improving key positions in the defensive unit, but ultimately, he said, “the best way to help your defense right now is by becoming more dynamic on offense.”
Coleman Not Deep Threat Allen Needs
Last year’s second-round draft pick out of Florida State, Keon Coleman is simply not the deep threat that Allen needs, according to Marino.
So who is?
“I think you got to look at this opportunity to call the Saints and talk to them about Chris Olave or Rashid Shaheed, who both give you speed and verticality, and Rashid Shaheed’s a heck of a punt returner as well,” Marino proposed.
Olave appears to likely be unavailable, as New Orleans is reportedly in the process of working out a long-term contract extension with the 2022 first-round draft pick out of Ohio State.
That leaves Shaheed, a 2022 Saints undrafted free agent out of Weber State in the Big Sky Conference who went on to be named a first-team All-Pro is his second season.
The 27-year-old Shaheed brings the blinding speed to the position that Marino wants to see in a new Bills acquisition. Coming out of Mt. Carmel High School in San Diego California, Shaheed was offered a full scholarship to run track at USC, but turned it down for Weber State, the only college to offer him a football scholarship.
But Shaheed will be an unrestricted free agent heading to the 2026 season, making him a candidate for the Saints to trade now.
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