Inside The Bills

Jones slotted most of the time

Donald Jones has been moved around quite a bit between three different wide receiver roles, but in OTAs he spent most of his time in the slot. It’s an interesting place for the guy with the inside track on the #2 WR job to be, but he likes it a lot.

“I love the slot,” said Jones. “You have a lot more flexibility in the slot. You don’t have guys beating up on you every play, so I definitely like being in there.”

The common advantage for slot receivers is they’re not restricted by the sideline like outside receivers. They have what’s called a two-way go meaning the receiver can break inside or outside.

“It definitely helps out a lot,” said Jones. “You have a lot more room in the slot. You have a two-way go. You’re working a lot more on nickels, but also linebackers and safeties, so we definitely have the edge. When you’re outside the corners have the sideline as their help and then they have the inside help so you have less flexibility.”

As a rookie Jones was lined up almost exclusively in the slot with Lee Evans and Stevie Johnson outside and was effective as a complementary receiver and a blocker for the run game. It appears as though Buffalo’s offensive staff wants to get back to some of that when they make use of one of their most popular formations which is the 4-wide, 1-back set.