The Buffalo Bills’ receiving corps left much to be desired in the first half of the 2017 season.

In fact, through the first six weeks of the season, the unit was producing at a historically poor rate. The entire corps was averaging just 4.8 receptions per game. The Bills’ leading wide receiver after Week 6 was Jordan Matthews, who had just ten catches for 162 yards.

While the production of Buffalo’s receiving corps improved after Week 6, the position was still looked at as an area of weakness of the team’s roster. General manager Brandon Beane addressed this by acquiring Carolina Panthers’ wide receiver Kelvin Benjamin just minutes before the clock struck 4:00 PM on October 31.

Acquiring Benjamin gave the Bills a legitimate No. 1 wide receiver. The 6-foot-5, 245-pound pass catcher is a lethal downfield threat who has already caught 32 passes for 475 yards this season.

Benjamin has yet to make his Buffalo debut. He was acquired just two days before the team’s Week 9 matchup with the New York Jets, and he sat out of the contest as a result. The Bills made Benjamin an inactive for the game in an attempt to give the 26-year-old more time to learn the team’s offense.

While speaking to the media on Monday morning, coach Sean McDermott talked about Benjamin, stating the receiver stayed in Buffalo over the weekend to better learn the team’s offensive system.

“He put in a lot of work over the last couple of days with our receivers coach,” McDermott said. “So we’ll see how he’s progressed in terms of his grasp of the offense to this point.”

McDermott was then asked about the skillset that Benjamin brings to Buffalo’s offense.

“Well, I’ll start off, a team is never made up of just one guy,” McDermott said. “Let’s get over that. Let’s get past that. He will integrate into what we’re doing, and add to what we’re doing. We’ve got good players already in this building, and we were able to add another good player with Kelvin.”

“I expect him to embed into what we’re doing, and work on being, A, a good teammate, and B, learning the system. I look forward to seeing how we’re going to use him, [offensive coordinator] Rick [Dennison] is going to implore him into the offense in terms of matchups and all those things that go into it.”

The rookie head coach then talked about Benjamin’s decision to stay in Buffalo over the weekend.

“It showed me his commitment. He moved up here in a very short amount of time, and I offered him the chance to go home, get some clothes, and get organized, and he said ‘No coach, I want to stay and get this offense down as best I can in a short amount of time here.’ That showed me he’s committed to the cause at this point.”

Once he slides into the lineup, Benjamin will likely become the focal point of the Bills’ passing game. Benjamin is seemingly eager to learn the offense, and it’s nice to see that he’s truly “committed to the cause.”

Buffalo fans will likely see Benjamin for the first time this Sunday afternoon when the team takes on the New Orleans Saints at New Era Field.