This one play showcases the cohesive nature of Bills' WR corps

Khalil Shakir and the Buffalo Bills receiving corps will use misdirection and unpredictability to help replace the talent that left this offseason.

Chris Seth | Aug 14, 2024

Jan 15, 2024; Orchard Park, New York, USA; Buffalo Bills wide receiver Khalil Shakir (10) runs for a touchdown after a catch in the fourth quarter of a 2024 AFC wild card game against the Pittsburgh Steelers at Highmark Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mark Konezny-USA TODAY Sports / Mark Konezny-USA TODAY Sports

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The Buffalo Bills opened their 2024 campaign with a preseason matchup against the newly exciting Chicago Bears. Bills Mafia filled the Highmark Stadium stands and hoped to watch the boys from Orchard Park give No. 1 overall pick Caleb Williams a rude welcome to the NFL. While things didn’t play out that way, the Bills gave us some fun plays and a reason to remember that the preseason is mostly meaningless.

One of the more exciting plays of the day for the Buffalo faithful was a 4th-and-2 conversion in the second quarter.

Pre-Snap

The play occurred less than one minute into the second frame. The Bills come out in shotgun in 11 personnel (11p) with James Cook at running back and Dawson Knox at tight end (detached). Starting from the far weak side for the three wide receivers; Keon Coleman is the No. 1 on the field side, Khalil Shakir is at the No. 2, and Marquez Valdes-Scantling is lined as the No. 3 on the boundary side, off the line next to Knox.

The Bears have four down linemen, three defensive backs, two linebackers, and two safeties. In this snapshot, they are showing a two-high structure. Valdes-Scantling ultimately goes in motion across the formation and Bears’ defensive back Jaylon Jones (21) trails him, indicating man coverage.

The veteran settles in as the No. 3 to the field side. Just prior to the snap, Bears’ safety Kevin Byard (31) began to creep up to the line. At the snap, he rushes.

Left guard O’Cyrus Torrence (64) and right tackle Spencer Brown (79) have already communicated the shift and pick up the blitz easily with Brown blocking Byard and Torrence stonewalling pass-rusher Dominique Robinson (90).

With Byard rushing, the Bears are in man coverage with a single high safety. Bills’ QB Mitchell Trubisky (11) immediately turns to Knox on a curl route, but he is effectively walled off by Bears’ LB Tremaine Edmunds, who was more impactful in coverage than many Bills’ fans ever gave him credit for.

Notice Shakir’s hesitation or delayed release in the above screenshot - every other receiver is three to five yards off the line of scrimmage (LOS) while Shakir is still at the 49-yard line. His defender, Josh Blackwell (39), is flat-footed waiting for Shakir to “c’mon do something.”

Turning away from Knox, Trubisky works through the progression left to right and locks on Valdes-Scantling, but there is solid coverage from Jones.

Trubisky also begins to shift to his right as the pocket width begins to tighten from the left, even though left tackle Dion Dawkins and left guard David Edwards are maintaining their blocks.

Shakir’s hesitation at the line was intentional. Coleman, who lined up as the No. 1 to Shakir’s right, is now cutting in front of both defenders. Shakir is giving every indication that he intends to head outside behind the pick. His head, shoulders, hips, and a plant step on his left foot are all telling Blackwell he needs to get wide behind Coleman’s pick and fellow CB Jaylon Johnson (1).

As soon as Blackwell (39) commits his hips and turns toward the sideline, however, Shakir stops on his right foot.

He whips his head around and breaks back inside, leaving Blackwell and Johnson entangled. Johnson does try to recover by switching off Coleman, but it’s too late. The Bears’ defensive backs are in such a mess that both Shakir and Coleman are open.

Trubisky hits Shakir beyond the sticks on 4th-and-2. He turns back outside and escapes to add some YAC.

Shakir led the Bills with 77.3% of his snaps in the slot in 2023, and that percentage is expected to decrease with the addition of Curtis Samuel and Coleman. That is not to say Shakir’s snap count will decrease, because he is more likely to see a significant increase in his total snap count from last season (352). The Bills' pass-catching group figures to be fluid and ever-shifting in formation, manifesting unpredictability and a half-second of hesitation from defenses, and that is a huge advantage in the NFL.

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Published Aug 14, 2024

CHRIS SETH