The Bills wide receiver corps one of the league’s thinner ones heading into training camp, which would seem to bode well for 2017 second-round pick Zay Jones’ chances of seeing a lot of playing time once September rolls around.
While that may be the case, General Manager Brandon Beane made it clear last week that Jones won’t be guaranteed anything this season. He had a quiet rookie season while dealing with a shoulder injury and missed offseason work after knee surgery, which Beane says leaves him with with work to do this summer.
“He’s not just going to necessarily go right to the top of the line,” Beane said during an appearance on WGR 550, via NewYorkUpstate.com. “He’ll have to earn his way. Part of that will just be just getting his feel. He’s only played with Nathan Peterman. He has not got to play with Josh Allen or AJ [McCarron] yet. So that bond there will just have to form.”
Kelvin Benjamin is the top receiver in Buffalo with Andre Holmes, Jeremy Kerley and Brandon Reilly among the other non-Jones options. It’s an underwhelming list that would look a lot better if Jones can make good on the potential the Bills saw when he was at East Carolina.