Marquez Valdes-Scantling has been down the road of filling a superstar void before.
Just as he was part of a cast of wide receivers brought in by the Kansas City Chiefs two years ago to compensate for trading away Tyreek Hill, Valdes-Scantling is now on a similar mission for the Buffalo Bills in the post-Stefon Diggs era -- even if he doesn't see it that way himself.
"I never really look at it like that because I went through the same thing when I went to Kansas City and Tyreek Hill left," Valdes-Scantling said Thursday on The Herd with Colin Cowherd. "I just come in there and be myself. Whatever that version of myself is that's needed for the team to help them win, that's what it is. I've never really tried to say, 'Oh, yeah, I want to come in and replace a guy.' … Just going in and being myself is the goal. It's never about what anybody else did before me or after me, it's all about who I am and being the best version of myself."
By trading Diggs to the Texans over the offseason, the Bills moved on from a player with four consecutive 100-catch, 1,000-yard seasons. They also saw Gabe Davis leave for the Jaguars in free agency.
Buffalo signed Valdes-Scanting, Curtis Samuel, Mack Hollins and Chase Claypool, and then took Keon Coleman with the No. 33 overall pick in the draft to restock the wide-receiving cupboard.
While Samuel is primarily a slot option and Hollins and Claypool provide big-bodied targets, MVS represents the deep-threat element of Buffalo's free-agent signings.
Although he endured an arduous 2023 while struggling with drops, catching just 21 passes for 315 yards and a touchdown, he persevered and still made plays, eventually catching another TD in Super Bowl LVIII. He also has a stellar 17.0 yards-per-catch average through six seasons.
His role as a burner will be pivotal to help strong-armed quarterback Josh Allen succeed in one of the bigger transitions of his career, but Valdes-Scantling is right to shrug off any narrative putting extra pressure to take over for Diggs or Davis.
The Chiefs still haven't found a one-to-one replacement for Hill, and they've fared just fine with two straight Super Bowl rings in his absence.
Now on the other side of a thus-far lopsided rivalry between Kansas City and Buffalo, Valdes-Scantling will be but one of a full cast of new weapons meant to help the Bills rewrite their offense.
If they succeed all together, perhaps Buffalo can finally get over the hump.
