Drafted in the first
round by the Bills in 1996 out of Mississippi State, being part of the
same draft that brought Marvin Harrison, Keyshawn Johnson, Terry Glenn
and Terrell Owens to the NFL, Eric Moulds was used primarily as a kick
returner during his first two seasons and a lot of folks considered him
a bust. During the 1998 season that changed and everyone believed
Moulds was on par with the rest of the great receiving class of 1996,
as he had one of the greatest breakout seasons ever in Buffalo Bills
history, catching 67 passes for a team record 1,368 yards. Moulds
started in his first playoff game that year and even though the Bills
lost to their arch rivals, the Miami Dolphins, by a score of 24-17, he
caught 9 Doug Flutie passes for 240 yards, a National Football League
playoff record for receiving yardage. He was selected to the first of
his five Pro Bowls.
Two seasons later Moulds set the Buffalo Bills' single season record
for receptions by snaring 94 for 1,326 yards, breaking the mark set by
his mentor Andre Reed, who set the record in 1994 with 90 receptions.
That record would last for two seasons because in 2002 Moulds became
the first Buffalo Bill to catch 100 passes in one season.
It seemed inevitable that someday, Eric Moulds would hold all
Buffalo receiving records. Unfortunately for Moulds, he was drafted at
the tail end of the Bills' Glory
Years. In 1996, the year he was taken by the Bills, Moulds
future looked extremely bright. He envisioned himself playing on a
championship caliber team for most of his career, competing in numerous
playoff games and possibly one or more Super Bowls. After his rookie
season, Jim Kelly ended his Hall of Fame career with the Bills,
signaling an era of instability at the quarterback position for the
Bills. During Moulds' ensuing nine seasons, the Bills would use eight
different starting quarterbacks making it extremely hard for him to
create any kind of chemistry with the passer. Also, the Bills would go
through three different general managers, four head coaches and six
offensive coordinators. Still Eric Moulds forged on and continued to
catch balls, score touchdowns and set records. He was an elite
superstar on a bad to mediocre team.
After the 1999 season, the Buffalo Bills failed to make the playoffs
for the next six seasons. They came close a couple of times, just
missing in 2002 and 2004 but that flicker if hope was always
extinguished the next season. His frustration finally came out in the
open during the 2005 season. He voiced his opinion which didn't sit too
well with Bills' coach, Mike Mularkey, who suspended Moulds for a game
against Miami that year for insubordination. Mularkey was losing his
hold on the team, Eric Moulds was one of the undisputed team leaders
and Mularkey was making a statement that he and only he had a say in
how the team should be run. The Bills would go on to blow a 17 point
lead in the fourth quarter and lose to the Dolphins which signaled the
beginning of the end of the Mike Mularkey era.
The following off season, the Bills enticed former Hall of Fame head
coach Marv Levy back to the fold to become the new general manager.
Levy stated that he wanted to keep Eric Moulds on the roster, even
though Moulds expressed his desire to be traded. It seemed if anyone
could convince Eric Moulds to stay, it would be Levy, Moulds' first
head coach with the Bills and a direct link to Buffalo's glorious past.
It was not to be, however the thought of a new head couch, new
offensive coordinator and a new system to learn was more than Moulds
wanted to handle. Who could blame him. Moulds was sadly dealt to the
Houston Texans.
Eric Moulds left the Buffalo Bills holding the records for most passes
caught in a season, 100; most yards gained in a season, 1,368; and most
consecutive games catching at least one pass, 94 games. He is second
all-time, only to Andre Reed in career receptions and yards, with 675
receptions for 9,096 yards. He is third on the Buffalo Bills career
touchdown list, having scored 40, trailing only Thurman Thomas, Reed
(tied with 87) and O. J. Simpson (70).
Drafted in the first
round by the Bills in 1996 out of Mississippi State, being part of the
same draft that brought Marvin Harrison, Keyshawn Johnson, Terry Glenn
and Terrell Owens to the NFL, Eric Moulds was used primarily as a kick
returner during his first two seasons and a lot of folks considered him
a bust. During the 1998 season that changed and everyone believed
Moulds was on par with the rest of the great receiving class of 1996,
as he had one of the greatest breakout seasons ever in Buffalo Bills
history, catching 67 passes for a team record 1,368 yards. Moulds
started in his first playoff game that year and even though the Bills
lost to their arch rivals, the Miami Dolphins, by a score of 24-17, he
caught 9 Doug Flutie passes for 240 yards, a National Football League
playoff record for receiving yardage. He was selected to the first of
his five Pro Bowls.