With several seasons of chemistry between them, look for the Allen-to-Shakir connection to more fully blossom in 2024
After Thursday’s training camp practice at St. John Fisher University, Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen met with the assembled media, ready to help reporters connect the dots to their most important current questions. As has been the case often this summer, wide receivers were a popular topic, and Allen was happy to oblige thoughts on the team’s new-look receiving unit.
Having heard on several occasions that there is no clear-cut WR1 in the reformulated offense, it’s difficult to ignore the connection Allen has with wide receiver Khalil Shakir. As such, Allen offered a passionate response when asked to reflect about Shakir and his work this summer.
“Obviously having that camaraderie that I do with him, that trust that I do with him — it’s paying off right now. I got a lot of faith in him. He’s a smart player. He’s much faster than you think. He’s got a very big catch radius for smaller arms, too. He finds ways to go up and get the ball. He’s not afraid to go and catch it with a safety right in front of his face. He just does all the little things right. If you — again, watch a running back catch a ball to the left, you see Khalil from the other side of the field sprinting his tail off to go and try to spring an extra block or be there for a fumble, and he just does things the right way. It’s easy to love playing with him.”
Down the stretch of the 2023 regular season, Shakir was the most productive and reliable wide receiver for the Bills. That effort coincided with the team’s six-game winning streak, where the team claimed the AFC East Division title a fourth consecutive time en route to defeating the Pittsburgh Steelers at home during Super Wild Card Weekend. In big moments, Shakir played huge, catching almost every pass thrown his way. During the regular season, he was unable to catch six passes. Six, total — in 17 games. Shakir finished the regular season with 39 receptions on 45 targets for 611 yards (15.7 ypc) and two touchdowns. In the postseason, it was Shakir, not Stefon Diggs, who played the dominating role of an unconventional alpha receiver on the field — adding another 10 receptions on 12 targets for 75 yards (7.5 ypc) and two touchdowns. (All stats courtesy of Pro Football Reference)
Though there’s an obvious chemistry between Allen and Shakir thanks to their time together, it doesn’t necessarily mean that’s at the expense of the other receivers — tight ends, running back, or traditional wide receivers. Offensive coordinator Joe Brady prefers running a system that asks players to have a 30,000-foot conceptual understanding, where they can roll out as plug-n-play positionless skill players anywhere on offense, regardless of the chart placement. Allen explained why the team’s new look attack where “everybody eats” may prove adept at keeping defenses more honest and on their toes.
“Right now, I don’t think that our defense can pinpoint on a single guy who we’re starting with. You know every concept. It could be Khalil. It could be starting with (wide receiver) Mack (Hollins), (rookie wide receiver) Keon (Coleman), (tight end) Dalton (Kincaid), (tight end) Dawson (Knox). And we could be starting with the running back. So, I think Joe’s been doing a good job of incorporating our guys into the system and utilizing their skill sets. And, again — just trying to be an extension of him out there.”
Allen believes that the team is well-positioned to succeed once the regular season starts thanks to “the trust and the feel that we’ve got for the guys in that room.” He’s also developed a quick bond with rookie wide receiver Keon Coleman.
“He’s just not... he’s just not normal, and I mean that in the best way. He does things his way, and he’s always him. He’s very authentic. You know, I had him over — I had a chef during the OTAs and, you know, she made fish and he’s like: ‘What the heck is this? I’m not eating this.’ And, he didn’t eat it, you know. He does things his own way. He’s super country, which I can relate to as well. I love the guy. You know, he’s making things personal, going out there and blocking hard, doing things the right way, and he’s making plays in camp. And again — we’re building that chemistry on the field right now, and I think that off the field we’ve got a very good thing going too. (Overall) just a lot of trust in those guys right now.”
When asked what it means to hear that left tackle Dion Dawkins wants to be an All-Pro player for him, Josh Allen provided a heartfelt response about his blindside protector, saying: “Yeah man, it’s a lot of love. I love Dion. I’d do a lot of things for that man right there.”
Allen understands how much it means to have someone like Dawkins as a teammate and friend. Dawkins’ profound character and infectious positivity resonate loudly with Allen, and among the entirety of the Buffalo Bills organization. On Dawkins, Allen continued:
“He’s been such a rock for not just this offense but for me not just on the the field but off the field as well — being able to talk to him, and just talk life. So, I appreciate him for who he is, you know. We wanna see All-Pro Shnow this year, so I’m glad he’s got these lofty goals for himself and that’s only gonna make our team better. So, I love it.”