![\"Malachi](\"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/GettyImages-2257151388-e1768882037872.jpg\")
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\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tGetty\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n
University of Miami wide receiver Malachi Toney. <\/p>\n
The son of a former Buffalo Bills<\/a> wide receiver had a monster performance in the College Football Playoff title game \u2014 though it wasn\u2019t enough to push his team to a victory.<\/p>\n Miami wide receiver Malachi Toney was one of the best players in Monday\u2019s title game, showing off his electric speed and the skills that made him one of college football\u2019s top freshmen this season. The Hurricanes fell short in their attempt to knock off the undefeated Indiana Hoosiers, but Toney made a big impression in the game.<\/p>\n Toney\u2019s father, Antonio Brown<\/a>, was a wide receiver and return specialist for the Bills in the early 2000s. While he was not a star like the Pittsburgh Steelers<\/a> receiver of the same name, Buffalo\u2019s Antonio Brown<\/p>\n Malachi Toney\u2019s Valiant Effort<\/p>\n Toney had 10 receptions for 122 yards and a touchdown in Monday\u2019s 27-21 loss to the Hoosiers, the top target for quarterback Carson Beck.<\/p>\n Toney also had a huge game in the team\u2019s 31-27 win over Ole Miss in the College Football Playoff semifinal, making five receptions for 81 yards and a touchdown and adding 11 rushing yards.<\/p>\n The speedy freshman earned some big praise this season, with\u00a0ESPN\u2019s Billy Tucker<\/a> ranking him as the nation\u2019s No. 1 freshman. Tucker noted that the true freshman is still young enough to be a high school senior, but instead excelled against some of the nation\u2019s top college football programs.<\/p>\n \u201cHe became Carson Beck\u2019s most reliable target and one of the nation\u2019s most productive receivers, ranking fourth in catches (94) while tallying 1,008 yards and eight touchdowns,\u201d Tucker wrote. \u201cHe broke Miami\u2019s single-season reception record against Texas A&M and already owns the program\u2019s freshman receiving yardage mark.\u201d<\/p>\n Tucker predicted that Toney has a chance to become an all-time great player at Miami.<\/p>\n \u201cIn their heyday, the Hurricanes cultivated a steady pipeline of star receivers including Santana Moss, Reggie Wayne and Andre Johnson,\u201d Tucker wrote. \u201cWith secure hands, quickness after the catch and fearlessness in traffic, Toney looks like Miami\u2019s next great playmaker and has solidified his status as one of the sport\u2019s brightest young stars as the Hurricanes return to national prominence.\u201d<\/p>\n Bills May Need Wide Receiver Help<\/p>\n While Toney is too young to enter the NFL<\/a> Draft this year, the Bills may need to scour the college ranks to find help for their wide receiving corps. The position group struggled at times this season, leading the Bills to add veteran Brandin Cooks<\/a> late in the season \u2014 and then watch him become the most reliable receiver in the playoffs.<\/p>\n The Bills signalled a major change in direction by firing head coach Sean McDermott<\/a> on Monday, with some insiders expecting the team will bring in a stronger offensive mind for their next coach.<\/p>\n Bleacher Report\u2019s Kristopher Knox<\/a> suggested the Bills will make some additions to their offense, but keep their tight budget in mind.<\/p>\n \u201cWideouts like George Pickens, Alec Pierce<\/a>, Jauan Jennings, and Wan\u2019Dale Robinson may be high on Buffalo\u2019s wish list, though the market cost of wideouts could be prohibitive,\u201d Knox wrote. \u201cTargeting a wideout in the draft would be the more budget-conscious move.\u201d<\/p>\n \n\t\t\tNathan Dougherty<\/a> is a sports reporter covering the NFL for Heavy.com, with a focus on the Buffalo Bills, Detroit Lions and Miami Dolphins. Previously he wrote for the Rochester Business Journal and served as the assistant editor of athletic trade magazines Coaching Management, Athletic Management and Training & Conditioning. He is based out of Rochester, New York, and loves everything football. More about Nathan Dougherty<\/a>\t\t<\/p>\n \n\t\t\tMore Heavy on Bills\n\t\t<\/p>\n \n\t\t\t\tLoading more stories\n\t\t<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Getty University of Miami wide receiver Malachi Toney. The son of a former Buffalo Bills wide receiver had…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":690380,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2048],"tags":[215,214,53,2086,7,6],"class_list":{"0":"post-690379","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-buffalo-bills","8":"tag-bills","9":"tag-buffalo","10":"tag-buffalo-bills","11":"tag-buffalobills","12":"tag-football","13":"tag-nfl"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nfl\/115925614829632624","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/690379","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=690379"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/690379\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/690380"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=690379"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=690379"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=690379"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}