Should WR Isaiah Hodgins be on the 53-man roster?

The third-year wideout has impressed throughout training camp and into the preseason

Overview

When Isaiah Hodgins was taken in the sixth round of the 2020 NFL Draft out of Oregon State, many fans and media members believed that he was a better player than fourth-round pick Gabe Davis. If you have been following the NFL for the last two years, you know that is not the case. At this point in Hodgins’ career, he is in the midst of a 53-man roster battle and he’s trying to separate himself from the pack.

In his two years as a pro he has played in just one singular regular season game, in which he didn’t factor into the stat sheet. There are two reasons why this is the case. The first is that, for the most part, he has spent his time on the practice squad behind a very talented group of wide receivers that the Bills have had. The second reason is that he has battled multiple injuries that have hurt his chances of being on the active roster to gain significant game reps. At this point, we are going into year three of Hodgins with the Bills, and this might be his last chance to make the 53-man roster.

Reasons for him not to make the team

If we go very simply into why Hodgins won’t make the roster, the answer I find is straightforward: there is too much talent ahead of him on the depth chart at his position. Stefon Diggs, Davis, Isaiah McKenzie, and Khalil Shakir are four roster locks at this point of the summer. Now it depends on how many wide receivers the Bills decide to keep.

Most people covering the team believe the number will probably be six, and I agree. I know most people are currently down on Jamison Crowder, but I still think that he gives the Bills something different at the position, and I expect him to be the fifth receiver to make the roster. That means there’s a battle for the last wide receiver spot between Jake Kumerow, Hodgins, Tavon Austin, and Marquez Stevenson.

What could make it difficult for Hodgins to make the roster is his lack of special teams play. The Bills, the last couple of years, have loved Kumerow because he is a contributor on special teams. Meanwhile, Austin can return punts, which Hodgins cannot. Out of the guys battling for that last spot, I believe Hodgins is the best true wide receiver, but his lack of ability to play special teams might be the one thing hindering his ability to make the 53-man roster.

Reasons why he will make the team

The reason why I believe that Hodgins will make Bills’ final roster is his ability to line up both on the inside and the outside. Most importantly, he gives the Bills another boundary receiver that, in essence, the Bills don’t have outside of Diggs and Davis. In the first preseason game, we saw how effective Hodgins could be when he is given a chance:

They moved him inside and out against Indy, and he produced in both spots. Something that stood out to me, and will help Hodgins’ case of making the roster, is that they played him on special teams for multiple snaps. That’s a significant development because to be the last wide receiver on the Bills roster, you will most likely have to play special teams.

We saw from the first preseason game that Hodgins deserves to be on the roster, but there is a ton of talent at the position and all of them do different things for the team. If Hodgins keeps up this level of play for the rest of the summer and preseason, it will be hard to ignore his talents and keep him off the final roster.

“It was just great to get that feeling of catching the ball again,” Hodgins said following the win over the Colts last week. “I’ve faced some injuries the past couple years so it just felt good to be out there.”