Young WR named Bills' 'most underrated' player, earns comparison to former All-Pro

One outlet has identified wide receiver Khalil Shakir as the Buffalo Bills' most underrated player entering the 2024 NFL season.

Kyle Silagyi | Jul 4, 2024

Nov 19, 2023; Orchard Park, New York, USA; Buffalo Bills wide receiver Khalil Shakir (10) runs with the ball for a touchdown after making a catch against the New York Jetsduring the second half at Highmark Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Gregory Fisher-USA TODAY Sports / Gregory Fisher-USA TODAY Sports

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There was a wide receiver whom Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen oft-looked to throughout the 2023 postseason, a pass catcher who earned the quarterback’s trust and ended the team’s two-game run as the only wide receiver on its roster to catch a playoff touchdown pass (actually reaching paydirt twice).

It wasn’t perennial Pro Bowler Stefon Diggs. It wasn’t even complementary option Gabriel Davis.

It was intstead Khalil Shakir, who capped off his breakout sophomore campaign with a strong postseason in which he caught 10 passes for 75 yards and two scores. The 2022 fifth-round draft 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, with 20 of these receptions for 363 yards coming after Joe Brady was promoted to interim offensive coordinator midway through the year.

The young play-caller made Shakir a mainstay on 11-personnel sets, a decision the wideout’s production soon justified. His play, though perhaps nationally overlooked, certainly made an impression on Buffalo’s brass; the team moved on from both Diggs and Davis in the offseason, and though they supplemented their departures with players like Curtis Samuel, Mack Hollins, Marquez Valdes-Scantling, and second-round draft pick Keon Coleman, none of these names (sans potentially Coleman) are necessarily marquee worthy.

The Bills’ offseason strategy at wide receiver suggests immense trust in Shakir for both immediate and long-term production; as the only wideout currently on Buffalo’s roster who has caught an in-game pass from Allen, it’s fair to expect his production to increase this fall. At only 24 years of age, one could also anticipate Shakir growing exponentially as a player in the coming years.

This 81-yard touchdown from Josh Allen to Khalil Shakir is the longest receiving touchdown for any player in the NFL this season. It’s also the first receiving touchdown the Jets have allowed to an opposing receiver since Week 1 vs #Bills pic.twitter.com/QOUz3hfCbb
— alex brasky (@alexbrasky) November 19, 2023

There’s a bevy of reasons to be bullish about Shakir, but he’s, at this juncture, not a player necessarily known by the casual football fan. This is why Sports Illustrated’s Connor Orr has identified the receiver as the Bills’ “most underrated” player entering the 2024 campaign; in a recent piece breaking down the most overlooked player on every AFC team, Orr praised the young pass catcher, again comparing him to a former NFL Offensive Player of the Year.

“I would have to imagine that 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 did not replace Stefon Diggs with a true No. 1 wide receiver and traded back when the opportunity arose to draft Keon Coleman at the back end of the first round. Shakir had a really solid season in 2023, hauling in 86.7% of his targets and accounting for 611 receiving yards. These catches were also not simple.

“Shakir had some high-difficulty grabs, such as the touchdown against the Las Vegas Raiders just before the half after Josh Allen spent his time extending the play. Shakir plays incredibly well off blocks and seems to understand the spacing of an offense well. I’ve made the Cooper Kupp comparison before, and I do think there’s sort of a budget Kupp element to Shakir’s game. Perhaps that is where the Bills are trending offensively, where they’ll manufacture more touches than depend on winning athletically in a division that has some stellar cornerback play.”

Orr’s analysis seems spot on—though Shakir figures to feature prominently in Buffalo’s passing attack, it does look as though the team plans to take an egalitarian approach to aerial production. Shakir will likely be oft-targeted and could end the season as the Bills’ leading producer at wide receiver; that said, he (more than likely) won’t receive the 161 targets that Diggs has averaged over the past four seasons. Shakir will be heavily involved—as will Samuel, and Coleman, and second-year tight end Dalton Kincaid, the list goes on. The Bills are going to spread the love offensively next season, perhaps giving new meaning to the term “Buffalove.”

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

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