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Buffalo Bills: Percy Harvin deal shows playoff mentality

By Kevin Parvizi

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The Buffalo Bills decision to sign former Minnesota Vikings, Seattle Seahawks, and New York Jets headcase Percy Harvin will give them one of the NFL’s most explosive playmakers, and if you could describe the Bills skill position players in one word, then no word would be more apt than “explosive”. This is a team that aggressively traded up to acquire uber-talented wideout Sammy Watkins last year, made a significant financial investment by trading for and extending LeSean McCoy (they also traded a great young LB), and signed Harvin despite his character concerns.

It’s unclear how much of Harvin’s one-year, $6 million deal is guaranteed, and that will ultimately tell us how risky this deal is. But on the surface, the Bills aren’t assuming much risk here, since they aren’t committed to an injury-prone receiver for more than one year, and they can only hope that player’s coach Rex Ryan can make sure Harvin doesn’t cause any locker room blow-ups that put the team’s chemistry at risk.

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Anytime Harvin is mentioned, the word “upside” is soon to follow, and that’s for good reason. In 2011 and 2012, Harvin caught over 70 passes, and his final three years with the Vikings organization displayed supreme playmaking quality before Rick Spielman eventually dealt Harvin when his value was at its highest. The red flags might outweigh the upside at this point, but at $6 million on a seemingly low-risk contract, the risk seems worth taking for the Bills.

More importantly, Harvin’s signing signifies an interesting approach from the Bills organization, as they have absolutely stacked their offense with explosive players. Watkins is a monster after the catch who also wowed all of us with his grabs before the season started, and he looked promising and exciting before an injury hindered the rest of his season. Meanwhile, McCoy is one of the best backs in the league at making defenders miss, and we only have to look at his insane 2013 season to see how elusive this guy is.

Throw in former track star Marquise Goodwin, and you have a Buffalo Bills offense that is built on speed and agility. Ryan never had this kind of explosive ability on the offensive side of the ball to support him, but unfortunately the Bills will have to deal with a mediocre-at-best QB in either Matt Cassel (the most likely starter) or former first-round pick E.J. Manuel, who might only have one more chance to prove that he isn’t a bust.

Ryan’s slim pickings at quarterback don’t change from his time with the New York Jets, but on the Bills, he at least gets a more touted offensive coordinator in Greg Roman, though he has his own questions to answer following last season’s debacle with the San Francisco 49ers. Of course, it will be Roman who gets to work with Harvin, Watkins, McCoy, and, let’s not forget, solid chain-moving “Z” receiver Robert Woods.

The Bills have talent and depth at both running back and wide receiver, and they could still at a top tight end yet in Miami Dolphins versatile weapon Charles Clay, who would have to worry about losing targets to Jordan Cameron in Miami. In Buffalo, Clay would be the clear-cut No. 1 guy and further add to the Bills budding versatility and wealth at the skill positions.

We’ve seen GMs like John Idzik do everything possible to add weapons on offense in order to salvage something out of the quarterbacks they drafted, largely because they know that the success of their QB will determine their job status. However, that might not be the case in Buffalo for Doug Whaley, since other teams, such as the Jacksonville Jaguars, are pursuing pass-catchers at a high pace in an effort to support a young QB, and perhaps the Bills are aiming to add talented WRs and RBs for their next QB.

The issue with that line of thinking, though, is that the Percy Harvin deal is just a one-year deal. Of course, they can re-sign him if everything goes well, but it’s hard to trust Harvin for more than just one season due to his injury and character concerns.

Mar 10, 2015; Orchard Park, NY, USA; Buffalo Bills running back LeSean McCoy and his son LeSean McCoy Jr. hold up his jersey after a press conference at Ralph Wilson Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kevin Hoffman-USA TODAY Sports

I think it’s more likely that the Bills are loading up on the likes of Harvin, McCoy, and, perhaps, Clay in an effort to make the playoffs. They acquired Cassel for a reason, since he’s a known commodity at QB. He’s clearly a below-average starter, but he won’t embarrass himself either and gives the team some stability at the position.

Considering how close they came last season despite their lack of a running game, the fact that they’ve added another, albeit slightly worse, veteran QB and overhauled their skill positions for a better indicates that they believe they could make the playoffs this year after being competitive in 2014 behind an elite defense that is still intact following the Jerry Hughes re-signing.

For them, the Alonso-McCoy deal was trading defense for offense, since their running game was non-existent and their offense lacked explosion last season, whereas their defense was elite without Alonso.

The Bills traded for McCoy, signed Harvin, and are pursuing Clay for a reason; they want to build a core of skill position players good enough to make plays on their own, allowing the offense to overcome mediocre QB play.

It seems like the Bills believe that if their offense is good enough, they can sneak into the playoffs behind an excellent defense, and their offense will be good enough if these new weapons can play up to their potential (we’ll wait and see if Clay joins the fold, too).

Next: Should the Bills draft this TE if they don't get Clay?

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