Anquan Boldin is back in play. The veteran receiver has agreed to a one-year deal with the receiver-needy Bills. He looks unlikely, however, to make much of an impact.
There’s not much left in the Boldin tank. He’s never had much speed, and he’ll be 37 in October.
Adam Schefter of ESPN reports that it’s a one-year deal worth $2.75 million, with an additional $1.25 million available in incentives. If any other teams thought Boldin had anything left, he would have landed a better contract.
The fit here isn’t great. The Bills should have a bottom-5 passing offense. Only the Rams passed for fewer yards last year, and only five teams threw touchdown passes. Buffalo has a new coaching staff now, but early reports suggest Tyrod Taylor has been struggling to pick up the new offense – he hasn’t looked very good.
On the plus side, the Bills don’t have much else at wide receiver. Sammy Watkins is a baller when healthy, but he’s been plagued by injuries. If the season started today, rookie Zay Jones would be a starter and journeyman Rod Streater would be their slot receiver. Philly Brown and Andre Holmes are in training camp, but they’re just trying to make the team.
The Bills also look a little shaky at tight end. Charles Clay isn’t a great pass catcher and has had some knee issues. Boldin could pick up some of that role.
Boldin caught 8 TDs last year for the Lions. Give him credit for that. But Detroit’s offense had a lot more ability to throw it around. Tyrod Taylor has been at his best when he’s been running around, buying time, and then launching long balls (I think he’s one of the very best deep passers in the league). But that doesn’t really fit with Boldin, who no longer has the speed to get deep.
Boldin averaged only 8.7 yards per catch last year with Detroit. In the last 10 years, only four other wide receivers have caught 50-plus passes and averaged even fewer yards.
| AVERAGING UNDER 10 YARDS PER CATCH | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Player | No | Rec | Avg | TD |
| 2010 | Danny Amendola, St.L. | 85 | 689 | 8.1 | 3 |
| 2009 | Andre Caldwell, Cin. | 51 | 432 | 8.5 | 3 |
| 2012 | Dexter McCluster, K.C. | 52 | 452 | 8.7 | 1 |
| 2016 | Cordarrelle Patterson, Minn. | 52 | 453 | 8.7 | 3 |
| 2016 | Anquan Boldin, Det. | 67 | 584 | 8.7 | 8 |
| 2016 | Tavon Austin, L.A. | 58 | 509 | 8.8 | 4 |
| 2014 | Jarvis Landry, Mia. | 84 | 758 | 9.0 | 5 |
| 2015 | Golden Tate, Det. | 90 | 813 | 9.0 | 6 |
| 2015 | Tavon Austin, St.L. | 52 | 473 | 9.1 | 10 |
| 2014 | James Jones, Oak. | 73 | 666 | 9.1 | 6 |
| 2014 | Percy Harvin, Sea.-NYJ | 51 | 483 | 9.5 | 2 |
| 2013 | Ace Sanders, Jac. | 51 | 484 | 9.5 | 1 |
| 2011 | Austin Collie, Ind. | 54 | 514 | 9.5 | 1 |
| 2016 | Larry Fitzgerald, Ariz. | 107 | 1,023 | 9.6 | 6 |
| 2013 | Dexter McCluster, K.C. | 53 | 511 | 9.6 | 4 |
| 2015 | Davante Adams, G.B. | 50 | 483 | 9.7 | 1 |
| 2016 | Tyreek Hill, K.C. | 61 | 593 | 9.7 | 12 |
| 2012 | Kendall Wright, Tenn. | 64 | 626 | 9.8 | 4 |
| 2008 | T.J. Houshmandzadeh, Cin. | 92 | 904 | 9.8 | 4 |
| 2010 | Wes Welker, N.E. | 86 | 848 | 9.9 | 7 |
| 2015 | Danny Amendola, N.E. | 65 | 648 | 10.0 | 3 |
| 2009 | Davone Bess, Mia. | 76 | 758 | 10.0 | 2 |
Boldin’s best work comes when he’s using his big body to post up, making short catches underneath. But that doesn’t seem to fit well with this offense or this quarterback – Taylor hasn’t completed a lot of those kind of balls, and the Bills have built around the run.
In a typical 12-team league, I believe I would leave Boldin undrafted.
—Ian Allan