NFL Analyst Names 2 Buffalo Bills to 2024 All-Breakout Team

The Buffalo Bills are no strangers to breakout performances.

Last year alone, the team saw two players emerge on the defensive side of the ball, Ed Oliver and Terrel Bernard.

Oliver, one of Buffalo’s starting defensive tackles and a former top-10 pick, has become a game destroyer for the Bills in 2023. Despite the loss of DaQuan Jones – another impact player at the tackle position defensive – early in the season, Oliver posted career highs. in sacks (9.5), QB hits (16) and tackles for loss (14).

Bernard entered the summer competing for a starting linebacker job opposite Matt Milano. The competition played out throughout the summer and despite a late absence from training camp, the former second-round pick won the job. While there were plenty of questions about Bernard’s performance, the second-year linebacker answered with a season that saw him record 143 total tackles (10 tackles for loss), 6.5 sacks, nine hurries QB, three interceptions and three fumbles recovered. .

While the defensive side of the ball was the star last season for Buffalo in terms of scoring players, NFL.com’s Bucky Brooks predicts that two Bills players will become household names on the offensive side of the ball in 2024. In his article predicting 11 scoring players on the offensive side of the ball, Brooks named Khalil Shakir and Dalton Kincaid to his list.

After a season in which Shakir became one of Josh Allen’s favorite targets late in the year, Brooks predicted Shakir could become a 1,000-yard receiver in Buffalo in 2024.

The Stefon Diggs trade opened up the WR1 role in the passing game. Although the team selected Keon Coleman with the 33rd overall pick to potentially fill the void, Shakir could take over as the primary receiver after a 2023 campaign that showcased his potential as a big-play threat ( 39 receptions for 611 yards and two touchdowns). With more opportunities in Joe Brady’s scheme, the third-year pro could break the 1,000-yard mark.

Shakir is the only receiver returning to Buffalo in 2024 who has a proven track record with Allen. After a second offseason of training with former Bills great Eric Moulds, it’s possible Shakir could take over the role of the team’s No. 1 receiver.

As for Kincaid, Brooks made a bold statement saying he wouldn’t be surprised to see the second-year tight end lead the league in receptions and receiving yards at tight end.

With Buffalo poised to regularly use “12” personnel, Kincaid could become a household name as a dominant pass catcher up the middle. While the second-year pro shares the marquee with fellow tight end Dawson Knox, the 6-foot-4, 240-pounder should thrive as Josh Allen attacks defenses with an inside-out approach that puts the Bills’ TEs in prominent roles. Kincaid took a bit of time to find his footing as a rookie, but still finished the season with solid numbers: 73 catches for 673 yards and two scores. And I expect a big uptick in production this fall. In fact, I wouldn’t be shocked if he ends up leading all tight ends in receptions and yards in 2024.

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