3 — McDermott & Allen evaluate WR depth
As decisions for the team's 53-man roster near, one room being watched closely is the wide receiver room. Head coach Sean McDermott feels comfortable with the team's top three receivers and is looking to further evaluate the other receivers.
"We've got a number of guys… I think we got a pretty good feel for (wide receivers) 1-2-3, but who's 4-5-6. It's trying to figure out who the rest of them are and how they can help us — not only on offense, but on special teams — and how we can ensure, knock on wood, if someone goes down, we have the right person. Profile, size, speed, whatever it is to make sure we don't drop too far," McDermott said.
At this point, the wide receiver room is made up of 12 guys all competing for roster spots, and quarterback Josh Allen believes getting good reps with any QB will continue to help their chances.
"Any and all reps are beneficial. Going out there and executing a play to the best of their abilities — making sure they're lined up right, running the right route and doing what they're paid to do, which is catch the ball. It doesn't matter who's at the quarterback position," Allen said.
Allen has embraced having receivers in and out of the lineup and believes it's not difficult, but instead feels it challenges him to be a better quarterback.
"They can test your skills, because you're throwing to different bodies, different speeds, different movements," Allen said. "Some guys are faster, some guys are slower, some guys are bigger, some guys are smaller. And we're asking them to run the same routes. And if you've got a 6-foot-4 guy running the same route as a 5-foot-10 guy, the ball is going to be a little bit different."
Knowing that all the receivers are putting in work ahead of roster decisions, Allen is appreciative of the time he's spent throwing with them throughout camp.
"I get to throw to some guys that maybe I wouldn't have if things were different, but it's good to see guys step up. We've got a lot of young guys that are smart football players and going in there and doing the best that they can," Allen said.