Bills Central

Veteran Bills WR now ‘comfortable in the offense,’ has gained Josh Allen’s ‘trust’

Buffalo Bills offensive coordinator Joe Brady has seen veteran wide receiver Marquez Valdes-Scantling grow more comfortable within the team's offense.

Kyle Silagyi

Bills wide receiver Marquez Valdes-Scantling pulls in a pass and races upfield during route drills.
Bills wide receiver Marquez Valdes-Scantling pulls in a pass and races upfield during route drills. / Shawn Dowd/Rochester Democrat and Chronicle / USA TODAY NETWORK
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It was reported shortly after veteran wide receiver Marquez Valdes-Scantling inked a one-year deal with the Buffalo Bills this offseason that quarterback Josh Allen played a role in his onboarding; the passer, per ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler, hosted the then-free agent at his home for dinner in mid-May, and the two, for lack of a better term, vibed. The 29-year-old signed with the Bills the next morning, adding speed, veteran experience, and championship pedigree to a revamped Buffalo receiving corps that grew younger in the offseason.

Valdes-Scantling’s off-field rapport with Allen has been long-documented, and throughout the team’s offseason workouts, the two have developed a burgeoning on-field rapport. Allen noted last week that he’s “gotten into a groove” with the seventh-year pass-catcher, with offensive coordinator Joe Brady echoing that sentiment during his Tuesday press conference; he told reporters that Valdes-Scantling has earned his quarterback’s trust, which is just one of several reasons why the play-caller is confident in the veteran.

“He obviously wants the drop back from the other day, but I think you’ve seen, if you’ve been in these practices the last few weeks, you can see his comfort level of him being able to make plays both down the field, just intermediate roles, he’s comfortable in the offense now,” Brady said. “He handled that one time when I was like, ‘Hey, I want you to go down to the other field just to get more reps.’ He was excited about it, because just getting the feel, he earned the opportunity to be just getting all the reps with Josh again. 

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“I’ve loved his mindset, his approach, how he’s kind of going about it. I’m not always focused on a drop here or there, it’s more of like, ‘Hey, are you where you need to be? We’ll clean up the rest of the stuff.’ Josh trusts him and he’s doing a really good job of kind of flowing with it.”

Brady mentions Valdes-Scantling’s drop on his sole target in Buffalo’s recent preseason loss to the Chicago Bears, a second-quarter mishap that the wideout had his hands on. This is an issue that has persisted throughout the receiver’s stints with the Green Bay Packers and Kansas City Chiefs; he’s dropped 21 passes throughout his professional career, per PFF, resulting in a career drop percentage of 9.1%.

Marquez Valdes-Scantling Keon Coleman
Bills Keon Coleman and Marquez Valdes-Scantling chat while stretching at Bills training camp at St. John Fisher University in Pittsford, NY on August 8, 2024. / Tina MacIntyre-Yee/Democrat and Chronicle / USA TODAY NETWORK

It’s all part of the ‘Valdes-Scantling experience,’ however; he’ll both drop routine passes and flash his 4.37 40-yard-dash speed as he comes down with extraordinary plays in crucial moments. The back-to-back Super Bowl champion, who has caught 186 passes for 3,155 yards and 16 touchdowns as a professional, brings much-needed traits (speed, leadership, and general and playoff experience) to a young Buffalo receiving corps; that said, he currently finds himself in a roster battle with players like Tyrell Shavers and K.J. Hamler in a position group that may cut off at five players.

Brady’s comments suggest that he has immense confidence in the veteran. He’ll look to strengthen his grip on a roster spot in Buffalo’s Week 2 preseason clash with the Pittsburgh Steelers this Saturday.

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Kyle Silagyi

KYLE SILAGYI

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