By Justin DiLoro / Billswire.usatoday.com
The Buffalo Bills, while sometimes outmatched by talent at the skill positions last season, needed their star players to perform at a high level in order for the team to have a chance in games. Unfortunately, several of these players dropped the ball and even though they were relied on up, they fell short with their production. In fact, the Bills did have some succeses despite these players limited contributions on the field.
Here are three Buffalo players who “earned” the title of an underachiever with their performances last season for the Bills:
RB LeSean McCoy
McCoy’s age-30 season hit him like a ton of bricks. From Week 1, it appeared that McCoy, who was supposed to be the focus of the offense this season, would struggle behind this offensive line. Throughout the season, the six-time Pro Bowl participant danced behind the line of scrimmage with little headway made. Rather than hit holes, as infrequent as they were, McCoy moved laterally and failed to pile up rushing yards.
He ended the season with the fewest rushing yards in one season in his career, racking up only 514 yards on the ground. His 3.2 yard per carry average was also a career-worst, nearly a full-yard less than his previous low of 4.0 yards per carry, which was established two seasons ago.
The trend is disconcerting.
McCoy averaged over four yards per carry in only four games this season. In two of those contests, he did not reach double-digits in the number of carries for the game. The 514 rushing yards he gained was fewer than half of his 2017 total. His receptions total dropped from a team-leading 59 catches in 2017 to a pedestrian 34 receptions last year.
This performance indicates that the Bills need to look for help in the backfield entering next year.
TE Charles Clay
The hope was that Charles Clay would break out and prove to be a stabilizing factor in the passing game, especially over the middle the field. That, unfortunately, never came to fruition, as the eight-year veteran only caught 21 passes on the season. It was clear as the season progressed that Clay’s speed was an issue, and he was slowly losing targets to Jason Croom.
San Francisco’s George Kittle put up 210 receiving yards in Week 13, a record total for a tight end in one game. In fact, Kittle produced this in one half. Clay could not match that over the course of a season.
With a price tag taking up $9 million of the Bills salary cap, Clay failed to meet any semblance of a player who commands that type of salary. The combination of money plus regression of skills could leave Clay off Buffalo’s roster next year.
WR Kelvin Benjamin
Consider this among the biggest swings and misses of the Brandon Beane regime thus far. Benjamin was gradually excessed from the wide receiver depth chart, being replaced by waiver claims and undrafted free agents. The disaster of his time in a Buffalo uniform mercifully ended when the team released Benjamin after Week 13.
The former first-round pick looked anything but a top selection, looking slow and uninspired on the field. This led to Benjamin establishing career lows in receptions (25, including two with Kansas City) and receiving yards (380; 26 with the Chiefs).
The 6-5 target was a complete disappointment. The hope was that he, with his large frame, would be a dominant force in the intermediate passing game. With rookie Josh Allen taking the helm early in the season, one would have thought a target such as Benjamin would help the rookie grow into his role as the team’s signal-caller. That expectation was wrong.
Allen developed more in the absence of the team’s “number one” receiver. Meanwhile, Benjamin whined about the passing game. Ultimately, his lack of speed did him in, as Benjamin will most likely struggle to find a top role on a competitive next year. Some team will take a flyer on him, but the expectations will over just below mediocre production. In essence, that’s what he gave to the Bills.