New Bills WR breaks down how he'll add to revamped passing game: 'Just be yourself'

New Buffalo Bills wide receiver Marquez Valdes-Scantling is hyper-focused on being himself as he adjusts to his new team.

Kyle Silagyi | Jun 28, 2024

Feb 11, 2024; Paradise, Nevada, USA; Kansas City Chiefs wide receiver Marquez Valdes-Scantling (11) against the San Francisco 49ers in Super Bowl LVIII at Allegiant Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports / Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports

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It’s about who you know.

This statement, which rings true in several walks of life, is especially applicable to professional football in a bevy of ways. It’s a sentiment that veteran wide receiver Marquez Valdes-Scantling has been a benefactor of throughout his professional career, as the two-time Super Bowl champion has had the pleasure of catching passes from some of the greatest quarterbacks to ever lace up a pair of cleats.

He joined a Green Bay Packers aerial attack then helmed by Aaron Rodgers after being selected by the team in the fifth round of the 2018 NFL Draft, catching 123 passes for 2,153 yards and 13 touchdowns throughout his four years with the storied franchise. He departed the company of one elite passer to join forces with another in the 2022 offseason, linking with Patrick Mahomes as he inked a three-year deal with the Kansas City Chiefs. He reeled in 63 passes for 1,003 yards in two seasons in Kansas City, winning back-to-back Super Bowls before being released after the conclusion of the 2023 campaign.

Again in search of a new club, Valdes-Scantling—as he is ought to do—united with yet another world-beater signal-caller, signing a one-year deal with the Buffalo Bills to catch passes from former All-Pro quarterback Josh Allen. The Buffalo passer, who won Valdes-Scantling over by hosting him at his house for dinner, is one of the best players in football by whatever metric you feel like referencing that particular day; he’s totaled over 40 touchdowns in an NFL-record four consecutive seasons, earning NFL MVP votes in three of those campaigns.

Feb 11, 2024; Paradise, Nevada, USA; Kansas City Chiefs wide receiver Marquez Valdes-Scantling (11) reacts after scoring a touchdown against the San Francisco 49ers during the third quarter of Super Bowl LVIII at Allegiant Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports / Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

Allen, however, will be throwing to a slew of new targets in the 2024 campaign, as Buffalo made significant alterations to its receiving corps in the 2024 offseason. Gone are Gabriel Davis and perennial Pro Bowler Stefon Diggs, and with them go 241 targets, 152 receptions, and 1,929 receiving yards from a season ago. The Bills supplemented these departures with additions like Valdes-Scantling, Mack Hollins, and rookie Keon Coleman, also hoping for increased production from the likes of Khalil Shakir and second-year tight end Dalton Kincaid.

It’s easy to look at Buffalo’s pass-catching corps and ask the obvious questions—the “Who is going to replace Diggs?,” the “Did the team add enough talent around Allen?” Valdes-Scantling isn’t letting these questions get to him as he prepares for a new campaign; he’s simply controlling the controllables and leaning on information he’s learned in his past stops to help him prepare for the upcoming season.

“I never really look at it like [replacing a player], because I went through the same thing when I went to Kansas City and Tyreek Hill left,” Valdes-Scantling said during a recent appearance on The Herd with Colin Cowherd. “I just come in there and be myself, whatever that version of myself is that’s needed for the team to help them win, that’s what it is. I’ve never really tried to say, ‘Oh yeah, I want to come in and replace a guy.’

“I think one of the best things I ever learned from Davante [Adams] is just come in and be yourself. Don’t try to come in and emulate me, don’t try to come in and emulate [Randall] Cobb. Larry Fitzgerald was my favorite receiver growing up, don’t try to be that guy. Just be yourself because that’s what got you here. Just going in and being myself is the goal. It’s never about what anybody else did before me or after me. It’s all about who I am and being the best version of myself.”

The Buffalo faithful will get its first opportunity to watch Valdes-Scantling ‘be himself’ and gel with the team’s receiving corps late next month when training camp commences at Rochester’s St. John Fisher University.

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