Bills OC reiterates ‘everyone eats’ offensive approach: ‘You have to respect everybody’

Buffalo Bills offensive coordinator Joe Brady is excited about his team's receiving corps entering the 2024 NFL season.

Kyle Silagyi | Jul 25, 2024

Jul 24, 2024; Rochester, NY, USA; Buffalo Bills offensive coordinator Joe Brady watches a training camp session at St. John Fisher University. Mandatory Credit: Mark Konezny-USA TODAY Sports / Mark Konezny-USA TODAY Sports

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Buffalo Bills offensive coordinator Joe Brady stole headlines earlier this offseason with five simple words: “Everyone is going to eat.”

It was a concise way of summarizing Buffalo’s new offensive philosophy in the wake of offseason roster turnover that saw the departures of perennial Pro Bowl wide receiver Stefon Diggs and complementary piece Gabriel Davis; the two combined for 241 targets last season, with Diggs himself accounting for 160 of those looks.

Buffalo’s offense was largely funneled through Diggs throughout his tenure, as he averaged roughly 160 targets throughout his four seasons with the team. With the alpha option omitted, the Bills instead opted to take an egalitarian approach to aerial production, constructing a diverse receiving corps with varied skill sets that quarterback Josh Allen can distribute the ball amongst more evenly.

Buffalo no longer has a bonafide No. 1 target, but this is by design, as its talented group of, albeit unproven, pass-catchers should still be a lot for defenses to handle this fall. Brady reiterated his confidence in the group ahead of Thursday’s training camp practice, again saying that he likes the unit's versatility.

“We’re kind of in the process of trying to see what all of our guys can do, their different skill sets,” Brady said. “I’m so excited about the group that we have, the tight ends and the receivers, because it’s so many different skill sets. You hope that the versatility allows it to play a little harder for defenses to defend, it’s ‘Hey, this guy can run short, but he also can push vertical,’ and it’s not only certain guys doing certain things.”

Part of what makes Buffalo’s weapons corps so intriguing is not only the versatility with regard to individual skill sets, but also to positions. Both Khalil Shakir and Curtis Samuel have experience both out wide in and in the slot, with the latter receiver also having found success under Brady when deployed from the backfield. Keon Coleman, though he figures to serve as the team’s X wide receiver this season, was impactful from the slot throughout his collegiate career, even spending some time in the role throughout Thursday’s practice session.

Jul 24, 2024; Rochester, NY, USA; Buffalo Bills wide receiver Keon Coleman (0) runs a pass route during training camp at St. John Fisher University. Mandatory Credit: Mark Konezny-USA TODAY Sports / Mark Konezny-USA TODAY Sports

The positional versatility, per Brady, will make the Bills’ offense difficult to plan against, as defenses don’t know where any player is going to line up on any particular play.

“We don’t have positions,” Brady said. “The way that we taught the offense, we just taught everything conceptually. These are three-man concepts, these are two-man concepts, these are full-field progressions, and so if I ask a guy, ‘Hey, what do you have on this play?’ They should be asking me, ‘Well, what’s the formation? What position am I playing on that play?’

“Not, like, ‘Hey, I’m the X, so I have this.’ It really forces the guys to understand at any given moment, you can be on any of these spots and you’ve got to know it. Formationally we can change it, move it around. That was a big point of emphasis; I don’t want the guys memorizing a play and what they have that specific route, they have to know it all.”

And when the ball is ultimately snapped, Brady likes the team’s chances for success. The team’s various offensive weapons—whether it be Shakir, Samuel, Coleman, second-year tight end Dalton Kincaid, or one of the several other targets on its roster—can win and create separation in a myriad of ways, something that, again, should make the team challenging to prepare for and combat.

“I think you have to respect everybody,” Brady said. “I don’t think speed is the only thing that impacts whether defenses are worried about guys going downfield. If you look across the league, there are certain guys, a 40-time doesn’t necessarily tell you if you’re a downfield threat or not.

“Size sometimes plays into factor of that, what type of routes you have to run, how you track a football, there are so many more things than just speed elements to it. I feel confident in the receiver room that we have that we have the ability to stretch the field if we want, [and] guys who will be able to go for footballs if we have to.”

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