Sean McDermott's latest comments point to a golden opportunity that the Bills missed to address one of their biggest needs

Sean McDermott took the podium as the first and only NFL head coach to speak on Monday night, which was a bit weird that he was on an island. That strange scheduling quirk aside, McDermott offered plenty of revealing comments about the state of the team as they begin scouting players at the NFL Scouting […]

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Sean McDermott

Sean McDermott took the podium as the first and only NFL head coach to speak on Monday night, which was a bit weird that he was on an island. That strange scheduling quirk aside, McDermott offered plenty of revealing comments about the state of the team as they begin scouting players at the NFL Scouting Combine this week. 

One position group that was asked about was the wide receiver position, and his comments will leave plenty of Bills Mafia feeling frustrated, and rightly so.

"Without getting too much into strategy and whatnot, I am a believer in that speed stretching the field, not just vertically, but horizontally. And vertically, I think it just opens up a defense," McDermott said. "So I thought we did that at times, probably not enough this year. And not just, you know, throwing the ball deep. It doesn't always mean that. It means taking a short pass and taking it for some good RAC yards for us in production. So I thought overall, we did some good things. And at wide receiver room, I really do. Can you always benefit from having more speed? Absolutely."

Maybe this is directly squarely at Brandon Beane. Maybe it's not. But the Bills had the opportunity to select a wide receiver last year that everyone knows now by the name of Xavier Worthy, who describes what McDermott wants in his wide receiver room perfectly. Worthy, who broke the NFL Scouting Combine record last season with a 4.21 second 40-yard dash, can fly. He takes the top off the defense. He makes corners and safeties flip their hips early in fear of what he can do. And he's capable of taking a short pass for a massive chunk play. 

Beane infamously traded the pick to Kansas City that they used to select Worthy. Now the Bills, who have a massive need for exactly what Worthy can offer, will have to try and find it elsewhere. 

Follow along all year for more Buffalo Bills coverage on A to Z Sports. You can find me on Bluesky @jonhelmkamp.bsky.social, and make sure to follow our main page @AtoZSports.bsky.social for all the latest news.