Young WR named Bills’ ‘most underrated’ player, gets comparisons to former All-Pro

There was one receiver that Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen turned to often throughout the 2023 playoffs, a wide receiver who earned the quarterback’s trust and ended the team’s two-game streak as the only receiver on its roster to catch a touchdown pass in the postseason (actually reaching the catch twice).

It wasn’t longtime Pro Bowler Stefon Diggs, or even complementary option Gabriel Davis.

Instead, it was Khalil Shakir who capped off his sophomore campaign with a solid postseason in which he caught 10 passes for 75 yards and two touchdowns. The 2022 fifth-round pick showed up when the lights were brightest, an extension of his play throughout the 2023 regular season; he caught 39 passes for 611 yards throughout the campaign, including 20 of those receptions for 363 yards after Joe Brady was promoted to interim offensive coordinator midway through the year.

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The young point guard made Shakir a mainstay on 11-man rosters, a move that the receiver’s production quickly justified. His play, while perhaps overlooked nationally, certainly made an impression on Buffalo’s brass; the team shed Diggs and Davis in the offseason, and while they rounded out their starters with the likes of Curtis Samuel, Mack Hollins, Marquez Valdes-Scantling and second-round pick Keon Coleman, none of those names (other than potentially Coleman) are necessarily worthy of consideration.

The Bills’ strategy at receiver this offseason suggests immense confidence in Shakir for immediate and long-term production. As the only receiver currently on Buffalo’s roster to have caught a play-action pass from Allen, it’s reasonable to expect his production to increase this fall. At just 24 years old, Shakir can also be expected to grow exponentially as a player in the years to come.

There are plenty of reasons to be optimistic about Shakir, but he’s not, at this point, a player that casual football fans necessarily know. That’s why Sports Illustrated’s Connor Orr identified the receiver as the Bills’ “most underrated” player heading into the 2024 campaign; in a recent article analyzing the most overlooked player on any AFC team, Orr heaped praise on the young wide receiver, again comparing him to a former NFL Offensive Player of the Year.

“I imagine Shakir, a third-year pro out of Boise State, was a major factor in the Bills’ decision to approach the offseason the way they did,” Orr wrote. “Buffalo didn’t replace Stefon Diggs with a true No. 1 receiver and traded up when the opportunity presented itself to draft Keon Coleman late in the first round. Shakir had a really solid season in 2023, catching 86.7 percent of his targets and totaling 611 receiving yards. Those receptions weren’t easy, either.”

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“Shakir has had some really tough catches, like the touchdown against the Las Vegas Raiders just before halftime after Josh Allen spent his time extending the play. Shakir plays incredibly well after blocks and seems to understand the spacing of an offense well. I’ve made the comparison to Cooper Kupp before, and I think there’s a kind of Kupp budget element to Shakir’s game. That may be where the Bills are headed offensively, where they’ll produce more touches than athletic wins in a division that has stellar cornerbacks.”

Orr’s analysis seems accurate. While Shakir is expected to play a significant role in Buffalo’s passing attack, it appears the team plans to take an egalitarian approach to aerial production. Shakir will likely be targeted frequently and could finish the season as the Bills’ top wide receiver producer. That said, he (most likely) won’t get the 161 targets that Diggs has averaged over the last four seasons. Shakir will be heavily involved, as will Samuel, Coleman, and second-year tight end Dalton Kincaid, the list goes on. The Bills will spread the love on offense next season, perhaps giving new meaning to the term “Buffalolove.”

Shakir, however, should have no problem setting career highs in what should be an expanded offensive role. With his demonstrated rapport with Allen and his comfort level in a Brady offense, it’s not hard to imagine him easily posting 39 receptions, 611 yards and two touchdowns during the 2024 regular season.

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