LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. -- The Buffalo Bills had to gut part of their championship contending roster as a result of salary cap compliance. One of the many areas affected on the team was the wide receiver room.
Gabe Davis signed for $39 million elsewhere ($13 million a year) and Curtis Samuel came in for $24 million ($8 million a year). The Bills don't have much room to sign another wideout in free agency, so the group of Samuel, Stefon Diggs, and Khalil Shakir are the top three.
McDermott is fine with that, yet he had to mention another group that was omitted.
"Well I like the skill set of the guys in that room," McDermott said at the NFL Annual Meetings Monday. "I like the addition of Curtis [Samuel], the speed element. The numbers of different guys we got in there, but you can certainly add [tight ends] Dalton [Kincaid] and Dawson [Knox] to that room with those guys. Them being able to block, being smart, being tough. Having the speed in there in addition to what Curtis brings to the table."
The Bills have the No. 28 overall pick, so it's possible they could go at wide receiver with that selection. Buffalo hasn't picked a wide receiver in the first round since Sammy Watkins in 2014, and Lee Evans was the last one 10 years prior in 2004. Perhaps McDermott keeps the 10-year trend going.
"The biggest thing is. Do you know your role? Do you understand your role? Do you embrace your role?" McDermott said. "All that's important when you're trying to say 'we wanna throw it,' but we're also need to run the football."
Having James Cook at running back certainly helps Buffalo's commitment to the run, but the Bills may look to improve on Ty Johnson as the No. 2. Then there's the Stefon Diggs annual offseason "news" that clouds the Bills. Diggs had an interesting social media post earlier this month that could determine his future with the organization he called home the last four years.
For now and the foreseeable future, Diggs remains in Buffalo. The wide receiver room isn't changing much either, even though the Bills probably would have preferred to have Davis back.
"We're gonna miss Gabe [Davis]. We wish Gabe well," McDermott said. "He had a huge impact on our team and our organization. Made some huge plays for us. I wish him the best."
