Buffalo · Mid-AmericanJa’Mori Maclin’s 71-yard Bills touchdown forces a tougher roster decision
The undrafted former Kentucky receiver made Buffalo’s biggest preseason play Saturday, but one long score can’t answer every question. Maclin has one game left to show he can help the Bills when the coverage stays tight and the grass disappears.
AUG 23, 2026
Yards on Maclin’s touchdown catch against Cleveland.
Receiving yards Maclin had against the Browns.
Career college catches across Kentucky, Missouri and North Texas.
01 · The NewsWhat Happened
Nick Roush posted video Saturday of former Kentucky wide receiver Ja’Mori Maclin catching a 71-yard touchdown for the Buffalo Bills against the Cleveland Browns. Maclin finished with two catches for 108 yards, beating a defender and racing down the left sideline for the score. He had one catch for nine yards against the Carolina Panthers in Buffalo’s first preseason game. Maclin went undrafted this spring after a college career that included Kentucky, Missouri and North Texas. He finished those stops with 100 catches for 1,891 yards and 17 touchdowns. During two seasons at Kentucky, he caught 26 passes for 502 yards and four scores. Buffalo’s preseason finale is Aug. 27 against Pittsburgh at 7 p.m. ET on NFL Network.
02 · The StakesWhy This One Matters
Maclin arrived in Buffalo needing to make a job out of a narrow opening. His Kentucky production was modest, and going undrafted left him fighting for attention among receivers who already had a stronger claim on the room. Saturday gave him the kind of play nobody can ignore. He beat the defender, stayed upright through the broken coverage and turned the open field into a very long afternoon for Cleveland. Maclin also explained what he’s trying to fix. He said the NFL speed is faster, and hearing the play once in the huddle is different from college. That’s useful context. The question isn’t whether he can run into space. Everybody saw that. It’s whether he can play cleanly when the play is ordinary.
03 · The Detail Beneath the HeadlineWhat Most People Are Missing
The touchdown made Maclin’s afternoon look larger than the audition around it. Nearly all of his preseason yardage came on one play, after a quiet first game. That leaves Buffalo with two different pieces of information: Maclin can change a game when he gets loose, and the rest of his sample is still small. For an undrafted receiver, that distinction gets decided in the unglamorous snaps. Can he finish the route, hear the call, line up correctly and give the quarterback a usable target when nobody loses him? The long run got Maclin another look. The routine plays may determine whether he gets a locker.
“The Bills already have Kentucky connections with Ray Davis, Deone Walker and Maxwell Hairston, but familiarity won’t win Maclin a spot.”
The Wire Desk04 · The PersonnelThe Last Audition
Maclin has one more preseason game before Buffalo makes its 53-man roster decisions. The Bills have not announced where he stands, and the reporting does not identify the receivers he is competing against. That keeps the judgment narrow. Pittsburgh is not a referendum on his college career or a reward for one highlight. It is another chance to show that the Cleveland play belongs to a receiver who can repeat good work. A second explosive catch would strengthen the case. So would a quieter game with clean routes and steady involvement. That kind of night would tell Buffalo he can help without needing the defense to make a mistake. Maclin’s first two games have supplied a quiet opening and a loud response. The finale tells the team which one is more useful.
05 · The ThesisThe Pate State Read
Maclin has earned a real final look. He has not earned certainty. Buffalo can appreciate the 71-yard score and still need to know whether he can function through the parts of an NFL game that don’t come with open grass. His own words point to the right test. “The biggest thing is just slowing the game down,” Maclin said. That sounds less like a finished product than a player learning how fast the room moves. The Bills already have Kentucky connections with Ray Davis, Deone Walker and Maxwell Hairston, but familiarity won’t win Maclin a spot. His speed gives him a reason to keep watching. His ordinary snaps will decide whether there’s a reason to keep him. The Pittsburgh finale is where the highlight has to become evidence.
06 · The Watch ListWhat We're Watching
Does Maclin handle the routine targets?
Short catches, clean routes and correct alignments will show whether Buffalo can trust him when a coverage bust isn’t waiting. Another quiet night would leave the touchdown carrying most of his case.
How much work does Maclin receive against Pittsburgh?
His snaps and targets will show how seriously Buffalo is evaluating him before the roster decision. A larger role would give the final audition more weight.
Can Maclin repeat the detail at NFL speed?
Maclin said he’s adjusting to hearing the play once and playing faster defenses. The next game will show whether that adjustment appears in his routes and assignments, not just on the stat sheet.