Bills WR named a player who could 'shape' the 2024 NFL season

CBS Sports feels as though Buffalo Bills wide receiver Curtis Samuel could help "shape" the 2024 NFL season.

Oct 9, 2022; Landover, Maryland, USA; Washington Commanders wide receiver Curtis Samuel (10) runs out of the tunnel onto the field prior to the Commanders' game against the Tennessee Titans at FedExField. Mandatory Credit: Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports / Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports

All eyes are on the Buffalo Bills’ receiving corps as we enter the 2024 NFL season.

This isn’t a necessarily new occurrence—any pass-catching group helmed by one of the league's best quarterbacks is going to be oft-discussed—but conversations this offseason have taken on a different tone. Buffalo parted ways with its two leading receivers from the past several seasons in the spring, allowing Gabriel Davis to walk as a free agent before trading perennial Pro Bowler Stefon Diggs to the Houston Texans in early April. The team figures to replace their production by spreading the ball out amongst a slew of unproven weapons with high-upside, namely third-year contributor Khalil Shakir, second-year tight end Dalton Kincaid, rookie Keon Coleman, and free agent signing Curtis Samuel.

All four of these pass-catchers are intriguing names who could individually break out in the 2024 season, but Samuel is perhaps the most interesting given his path to One Bills Drive. A former second-round pick who has never fully reached his potential due to inconsistent quarterback play, a carousel of offensive coaching staffs, and occasional injury, Samuel is a difficult player to project a ceiling for entering the new campaign—he’s never sniffed 1,000 receiving yards in a single season, yet, given his demonstrated talent and versatility, many prognosticators feel as though he’s capable of more.

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It’s possible that Samuel simply echos his usual role and production in Buffalo, but now paired with one of the NFL’s best quarterbacks in Josh Allen, it’s difficult not to be excited about the 27-year-old’s chances to emerge as an oft-used playmaker this fall. This is why CBS Sports writer Zachary Pereles has circled the pass-catcher as one of 50 players “who could shape the 2024 season.”

“After losing Stefon Diggs and Gabe Davis this offseason, the Bills' passing game will likely be more by-committee this season, and Samuel could lead that committee,” Pereles wrote in a recent article. “He reunites with Joe Brady, his former offensive coordinator in Carolina in 2020, when Samuel had career highs in yards receiving (851) and rushing (200). Samuel can play in the slot, out wide and, occasionally, in the backfield.”

Nov 12, 2023; Seattle, Washington, USA; Washington Commanders wide receiver Curtis Samuel (4) walks to the locker room following pregame warmups against the Seattle Seahawks at Lumen Field. Mandatory Credit: Joe Nicholson-USA TODAY Sports / Joe Nicholson-USA TODAY Sports

As Pereles notes in his analysis, Samuel has experience with current Buffalo offensive coordinator Joe Brady, who was hired in the gig full-time this offseason after taking over play-calling duties on an interim basis midway through the 2023 campaign. Brady had previously served as the offensive coordinator of the Carolina Panthers, leading Samuel to his best professional production (1,051 scrimmage yards) in the 2020 NFL season. The play-caller deployed Samuel as a versatile chess piece, using him in the slot (399 snaps), out wide (177 snaps), and in the backfield (70 snaps); he plans to utilize him similarly in Orchard Park, recently stating that Samuel will do “a little bit of everything” for the team’s offense.

Given his familiarity with and demonstrated comfort in a Brady offense, it’s easy to be excited about Samuel’s opportunity, especially considering the quarterback he’s set to join forces with. There are several mouths to feed in Buffalo’s retooled offense, but his role, at this juncture, seems comparatively defined and potentially significant. Fresh off an underwhelming three-year stint with the Washington Commanders, don’t be surprised if Samuel again sets new career highs under Brady in 2024.

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