At times last year, wide receiver seemed to be a glaring need for the Buffalo Bills, but they have a pair of youngsters they might be able to rely on in coming years. Zay Jones was a lot better in his second season, and they may have stumbled onto something special in Robert Foster.
After a lackluster career at Alabama, Foster wasn’t even drafted. With the Crimson Tide having plenty of other talented wide receivers and a run-centric offense, Foster caught only 19 passes and 1 touchdown in his final two seasons. And Foster was unimpressive enough early last year that the Bills released him, re-signing after he spent three weeks on the practice squad.
But Foster has some talent. He’s got good size (6-2, 196) and ran a 4.41 at the combined – 5th-fastest among wide receivers. While he never developed into another Julio Jones, Amari Cooper or Calvin Ridley, Foster was a five-star recruit when he went to Alabama. And he played well enough down the stretch that I’m thinking he’ll be a starter in 2019.
The Bills expanded his role down the stretch last year, and he delivered, with 4 receptions over 40 yards in their final seven games. In those games, he caught 25 passes for 511 yards and 3 TDs, averaging 20.4 yards per catch. Project that production over 16 games, and you’re looking at 1,168 yards and 7 TDs.
With his size and speed, I expect the Bills will look to utilize him extensively in 2019 – mostly as a deep threat. I don’t think he’ll catch as many passes as Zay Jones, but I think he’ll hit on more deep shots (and that should be a big part of their offense, given Josh Allen’s cannon arm). At worst, he’ll be their No. 3 receiver, but I think he’s more likely to be a starter.
| ROBERT FOSTER: Last seven games | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Opp | Scoroe | Tgt | Rec | Yds | Avg | TD |
| at NYJ | W 41-10 | 4 | 3 | 105 | 35.0 | 0 |
| Jac. | W 24-21 | 3 | 2 | 94 | 47.0 | 1 |
| at Mia. | L 17-21 | 3 | 1 | 27 | 27.0 | 0 |
| NYJ | L 23-27 | 8 | 7 | 104 | 14.9 | 0 |
| Det. | W 14-13 | 5 | 4 | 108 | 27.0 | 1 |
| at N.E. | L 12-24 | 7 | 4 | 52 | 13.0 | 0 |
| Mia. | W 42-17 | 5 | 4 | 21 | 5.3 | 1 |
—Ian Allan