White Star Lotulelei Jerseys , I was on record as saying that he’d need more than normal improvement in his second year to cut it as an NFL receiver. A respectable yards-per-catch in 2017 was dragged down by the anchor of a truly sub-par catch rate. In his rookie year, Jones seemed to struggle to build chemistry and confidence. This season has seen an overall reduction in offensive play and production for the Buffalo Bills. Zay Jones though? He’s made a big jump. Play 1This is from the Wild Card round last year. Most of the criticism directed Zay Jones’s way related to his ability to acclimate to the NFL and synchronize with his team. One thing that should not have been critiqued was effort. Here, Jones runs a route well enough. When he sees the play has developed elsewhere he immediately finds a person to block. This is nothing if not completely normal for Jones. Play 2This is as good a play as any to encompass Jones’s 2017 season. On shorter finesse routes he was able to get open pretty consistently. When timing plays popped into the offense things generally went alright—it’s the little things that can sink you though. Notice that Jones creeps away from the line-to-gain ever so slightly. Had he run his route flat he’d catch the ball a hair later but closer to the sticks. Teeny-tiny things kept Jones from being the receiver we all hoped for in 2017. Play 3Here we are in the present season. On this crossing route, Jones’s initial cut gives him a step on the defender. There’s some clutter in the throwing lanes to Jones, but a well-timed pass with a little touch is likely a first down. Thus begins our pattern. For a timing quarterback, Jones provides plenty of opportunities for chunk plays such as this. Play 4The clip pretty much says it all. In less than a second, Jones has gone from sprinting in one direction to ready to catch a pass in the other direction. Tramon Williams is stride-for-stride with Jones to start, but this quick change of direction results in a cushion of nearly three yards. While there’s not much room for yards-after-catch, there’s opportunity in plays like these. As team chemistry increases, the hope is that the Bills can find these quick gains to keep the offense on the field. Jones has refined these cuts in 2018 and could be a consistent option. Play 5I hate to say “I told you so” but... Well alright, I’m perfectly fine saying it. The quick plant works just as well (if not even better) than the last play. The pass is likely a little late and any chance at turning upfield is lost. Play 6If everything goes according to plan, this is as close to a crystal ball as I think I can give you. Josh Allen trusts Jones and lets the ball rip on time. These quick breaks by Jones can be lethal at a few levels of the field. If this kind of rapport can be built between these two Star Lotulelei Jerseys 2019 , the future could be bright for the Bills. Coming back to Earth on this, both players have some work to do to aim for a consistent ability to pull this off. Play 7The Bills could do the team a favor and look for someone who is better able to take the top off the defense. At full speed ahead, Jones’ ability to quickly change direction is negated (as is the case with just about everyone because of physics). Without that skill to fall back on, he’s generally blanketed. This is less a knock on Jones, and more a statement that the team still has a few things to sort out. Jones is asked to do a lot as a result of a lack of other options, which will put him in disadvantageous positions on occasion. Play 8Sometimes Jones’s struggles are due to circumstances out of his control. Like poor officiating. This play is included as it was frequently referenced and asked about. Jones runs a good timing route and Allen has him for a big gain. Unfortunately, Jones is blasted well before the ball gets to him and for some reason no flag is thrown. There’s no defense of the non-call—the only possible explanation is that Tyrann Mathieu was also going for the ball. In order to do that though, he’d have had to work toward the right side of the screen. Instead, he very obviously just demolishes Zay Jones. Play 9If nothing else, Brian Daboll has seen the global value that Jones brings to the table. Jones has seen a significant increase in playing time this year under Daboll. A big reason is likely that he is a willing and able blocker. The continuous improvement of Zay Jones and the on-field effort have been a silver lining for the Bills’ offense. ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. (AP)Josh Allen is grateful the Buffalo Bills maintained their faith in him after a last-minute controversy erupted over a series of racially insensitive tweets the Wyoming quarterback posted while still in high school.Saying the comments don’t reflect the person he has become, Allen vowed it’s on him to prove to everyone how much he’s matured.”I do take it on the chin White Russell Bodine Jerseys ,” Allen said during a conference call Thursday night, shortly after being selected with the seventh pick in the NFL draft.”I’m extremely grateful that they went out of the way, they stuck out their neck for me,” he added, noting he was parroting rap lyrics and catchphrases from TV and pop culture. ”Now it’s my chance to go prove and make sure they look like they made the right move by trading up for me.”After spending the day having to be re-assured they didn’t miss anything in regards to Allen’s character, the Bills went ahead and traded up five spots to make him just the fourth quarterback selected in the first round in team history.Along with swapping first-round picks with Tampa Bay, Buffalo also gave up its two second-round selections – 53rd and 56th – in Brandon Beane’s first draft as general manager.Beane said he was taken aback when Yahoo Sports on Wednesday night revealed Allen sent the now-deleted tweets.”Listen, we don’t condone anything. We did our due diligence,” Beane said of spending the day talking to Allen as well as his former Wyoming coaches and teammates.”This was a 14- and 15-year-old. I’m not into making an excuse, but I know there’s probably things that I would be disappointed myself that I did at 14 or 15,” Beane said.”And he’s going to own it. That’s all he can do. He’s owned it. And he’s going to have to earn the trust of his teammates, the fan base Russell Bodine Jerseys 2019 , our organization.”Wyoming coach Craig Bohl said Allen had ”great relationships with his teammates and our fan base” and Allen ”embraced diversity” while at Wyoming.After selecting Allen, Beane made another move up by trading Buffalo’s No. 22 selection to Baltimore in order to fill a big need on defense by selecting Virginia Tech linebacker Tremaine Edmunds with the 16th selection. Buffalo also traded its third-round pick, 65th overall, while acquiring the Ravens‘ fifth-round pick (154th overall).Edmunds, who turns 20 on Tuesday, is listed at 6-foot-5 and 250 pounds and was a two-year starter at Virginia Tech. He led the Hokies with 109 tackles and 5 1/2 sacks and named a Butkus Award finalist last season.He will be given an opportunity to take over the middle linebacker spot after Buffalo lost starter Preston Brown in free agency last month.Much of the focus will be placed on Allen, who carries the expectations of filling what’s been an unsettled position in Buffalo since Hall of Famer Jim Kelly retired after the 1996 season.The Bills have had 13 quarterbacks start at least five games since, including three-year starter Tyrod Taylor, who was traded to Cleveland last month despite helping the Bills to a 9-7 finish and snap the franchise’s 17-year playoff drought.At 6-foot-5 and 237 pounds, Allen is a strong-armed but occasionally inaccurate passer after spending the past three years at Wyoming. He finished 365 of 649 for 5,066 yards passing with 44 touchdowns and 21 interceptions in 27 games with the Cowboys.Allen is from Firebaugh, California White Phillip Gaines Jerseys , and was not heavily recruited coming out of high school. He instead spent his freshman year playing at California’s Reedley Community College, before going to Wyoming in 2015.An NFL draft scouting report billed Allen as likely being ”the biggest boom or bust quarterback prospect in the draft.” Though he has prototypical size, he was knocked for his 56.2 career completion percentage at Wyoming.Allen chuckled and said, ”don’t do it,” when asked what fans might make of his statistics.Allen then said spending three years playing in the windy and snowy elements at Laramie, Wyoming, qualifies him to play in Buffalo, where the conditions can also become harsh come November.”Being in Laramie, out of all four, five quarterbacks in this draft, I’m the one that was suited for Buffalo,” Allen said. ”Hopefully Phillip Gaines Jerseys 2019 , I call this place home for the next 15 to 20 years.”The first question is when he might be deemed ready to become a starter on a team that has two other untested quarterbacks: Free-agent addition A.J. McCarron , who spent the past four seasons serving as Andy Dalton’s backup in Cincinnati; and Nathan Peterman, best remembered for throwing five interceptions in the first half of a blowout loss to the Chargers in his rookie season.The Bills also acquired a seventh-round pick, 255th overall, in the trade with Tampa Bay. The deals leave them with six picks in the draft, including a third-rounder – 96th overall – on Friday.—