Is it time for the third-year man to break out?
The Buffalo Bills have overhauled their receiver room this offseason. Man, I am so tired of writing that sentence, and so looking forward to watching that overhauled wide receiver room in action on September 8 against the Arizona Cardinals. In theory, removing the top two targets from last season is a scary proposition, so I’m excited to see what it looks like in practice.
Change is the only constant both in professional sports and in life. The Bills are not immune to the salary cap and the sands of time, so eventually, we knew that Stefon Diggs would be gone, and we also assumed that Gabe Davis would move on. To lose both in the same offseason presents challenges, but many of those challenges can be answered simply: The Bills employ one Joshua Patrick Allen at quarterback.
The question, then, is who will step up to claim those missing targets in the passing game? Between Diggs and Davis, there are 488 targets over the last two seasons to go around. Who will step up and claim them?
In today’s installment of “91 players in 91 days,” we discuss one of the likeliest answers to that question.
Khalil Shakir
- Number: 10
- Position: WR
- Height/Weight: 6’, 190 pounds
- Age: 24 (25 on 2/3/2025)
- Experience/Draft: 3; selected in the fifth round (No. 148 overall) of the 2022 NFL Draft
- College: Boise State
- Acquired: Fifth-round draft choice
Financial situation (per Spotrac): Shakir enters the third year of his four-year rookie contract, a pact worth $4,007,148 overall. For the 2024 season, he carries a cap hit of $1,071,787. Buffalo would be on the hook for a dead-cap charge of $173,574 if he were to be released or traded.
2023 Recap: The 2023 season is a tale of two offensive coordinators for Shakir, as he was used entirely differently under Ken Dorsey than he was Joe Brady. In Dorsey’s 10 games as play caller, Shakir saw 21 targets, catching 19 passes for 248 yards and a touchdown. In Brady’s nine games as play caller, which includes two playoff games, Shakir saw 36 targets, catching 30 passes for 438 yards and three touchdowns.
In those two playoff games, Shakir was the only wideout to catch a touchdown in both of them. Against the Kansas City Chiefs, Shakir was Josh Allen’s most frequent target, seeing nine passes come his way. Overall, Shakir caught 39 passes on 45 targets for 611 yards and two scores in the regular season. He caught ten passes on twelve targets for 75 yards and two scores in the playoffs.
Positional outlook: Shakir is joined by rookie Keon Coleman and veterans Mack Hollins, Curtis Samuel, and Marquez Valdes-Scantling on the 53-man roster.
2024 Offseason: Shakir is healthy and ready to roll for the season. He operated both outside and in the slot this preseason.
2024 Season outlook: It’s interesting to me how the Bills’ receiver room is perceived outwardly. Using fantasy football to gauge assumed production isn’t always the most effective method, but I’m going to do so in this particular case. In ESPN fantasy drafts, Shakir is the third Bills’ wideout going in drafts, as Keon Coleman and Curtis Samuel are going ahead of him. I think that’s interesting for numerous reasons, but the biggest one is that I think it’s going in reverse order of which players are going to see the most targets.
Shakir is the only wide receiver who has worked with Josh Allen prior to this year. He showed a huge uptick in production once the offensive coordinator changed. He has great hands and great quickness. He runs excellent routes at multiple depths and positions on the field. He can operate in the slot and on the outside. Unless I’m missing something, I think Shakir is a good bet to be Buffalo’s top receiver at the end of the season, and a safe bet to finish at least second behind tight end Dalton Kincaid.
I’m often prone to hyperbole, so excuse the extreme comparison, but Shakir’s game reminds me a little of Andre Reed. He’s not exactly a prototype slot guy, but he’s physical enough to muscle through smaller slot corners, quick enough to deal with bigger outside corners, and versatile enough where teams will struggle to game plan for him. The Bills know they can move him around and set him up in position to win against various coverages and matchups.
Is Shakir going to be a Hall of Famer? No, that’s not what I’m saying. What I am saying, though, is that he might end up the answer to that question we’ve been asking all offseason. “Who is going to step up and be the team’s go-to receiver without Stefon Diggs?” I’d bet on No. 10 being that guy.