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Marquez Valdes-Scantling

MVS inexplicably finds work again

The Bills signed Marquez Valdes-Scantling yesterday, which means it's time for my annual post expressing bafflement as to how this guy keeps getting new contracts. Seldom has there been a wide receiver to do less while continuing to see opportunities in favorable situations, year after year.

Valdes-Scantling is a nice deep threat. For his career he's averaged 17 yards per catch, which presumably helps open things up for offenses and enable other players to produce. And that's happened, it just usually doesn't involve him.

Over the past six seasons, MVS is one of 56 wide receivers to have had at least 360 targets -- 60 per year. He's done that while working exclusively with two first-ballot Hall of Fame quarterbacks, Aaron Rodgers and Patrick Mahomes. But in that time he's averaged just 34 yards per game. That's worse than all of those wide receivers but Zay Jones, whose quarterbacking (with the Bills, Raiders and Jaguars) hasn't been quite as good.

Table shows all those 60-target per year wide receivers, sorted by receiving yards per game. Data compiled using search tools at pro-football-reference.com.

WIDE RECEIVERS WITH 360 TARGETS, 2018-2023
PlayerTgtRecYdsAvgTDY/G
Justin Jefferson576392589915.03098.3
Tyreek Hill861581836314.46389.9
Davante Adams969635797012.66987.6
Ja'Marr Chase407268371713.92982.6
Michael Thomas473369418711.32280.5
Cooper Kupp697505619712.34680.5
Stefon Diggs887610752312.35278.4
DeAndre Hopkins770515649012.64278.2
CeeDee Lamb568395514513.03278.0
A.J. Brown598379594715.74277.2
Keenan Allen828581652011.23776.7
Mike Evans742453710115.76276.4
Amon-Ra St. Brown429315358811.42173.2
Jaylen Waddle361251338513.51872.0
Chris Godwin699495616512.53370.1
Amari Cooper720464658314.24270.0
D.J. Moore752460656514.32967.7
Terry McLaurin609378528314.02566.0
Calvin Ridley516324435813.53666.0
Julio Jones505329464914.12365.5
D.K. Metcalf618372533214.34365.0
Tyler Lockett658475617813.05063.7
Tee Higgins403257368414.32463.5
Brandon Aiyuk399269393114.62563.4
Deebo Samuel429283412214.61962.5
Mike Williams489298471115.83160.4
Brandin Cooks616404533013.23059.2
Michael Pittman Jr.487336366210.91559.1
Adam Thielen648457517211.34958.8
Diontae Johnson639391436311.22556.7
Christian Kirk576377479712.72856.4
Jarvis Landry514313383212.21656.4
Odell Beckham Jr.446253350813.92155.7
Robert Woods633404479811.92155.1
Tyler Boyd640437517211.82855.0
JuJu Smith-Schuster540372413111.12354.4
Courtland Sutton511298425914.32452.6
Kenny Golladay360198319316.11951.5
Marquise Brown525313364411.62850.6
Allen Robinson566360418011.62149.8
DeVante Parker453263375214.31948.7
Cole Beasley419302314510.41447.7
Marvin Jones479297366112.33047.5
Jakobi Meyers450306356511.71646.9
DJ Chark383212306914.52344.5
Darius Slayton388220332415.11943.7
Michael Gallup479266374414.12143.5
Darnell Mooney360213259312.21143.2
Sterling Shepard379248268110.81342.6
Robbie Chosen486274355413.02140.4
Curtis Samuel459302326810.82239.9
Hunter Renfrow363269288410.71739.5
Jamison Crowder364239258610.81736.9
Nelson Agholor410254321112.62435.3
Marquez Valdes-Scantling370186315517.01634.3
Zay Jones422260271210.41630.5

One takeaway from this is that Valdes-Scantling signing with Buffalo should essentially have zero negative effect on Buffalo's other pass catchers -- Curtis Samuel, Khalil Shakir, Keon Coleman, Dalton Kincaid. They'll put MVS out there to run a few fly patterns, most of those throws will fall incomplete, and things will be opened up underneath for Samuel-Shakir et al to eat. Valdes-Scantling will collect his "up to" $4.5 million and generate very little in the way of stats while doing so.

Please do not consider drafting him. It may not be certain who the Bills' top receiver will be, but it won't be him.

--Andy Richardson

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