Bills HC has been ‘very impressed’ by under-the-radar second-year WR

Buffalo Bills head coach Sean McDermott has been impressed by wide receiver Tyrell Shavers, who has made the most of his opportunities throughout training camp.

Jul 27, 2023; Rochester NY, USA; Buffalo Bills wide receiver Tyrell Shavers (80) enters the field of play during training camp at St. John Fisher College. Mandatory Credit: Gregory Fisher-USA TODAY Sports / Gregory Fisher-USA TODAY Sports

Don’t look now, but there’s an overlooked second-year wide receiver who is quietly carving out a role in the Buffalo Bills’ revamped receiving corps.

Few were having lengthy conversations about Tyrell Shavers entering Buffalo’s 2024 training camp; the 2023 undrafted free agent spent his rookie season on the team’s practice squad, and given the significant wave of changes that cascaded atop the team’s receiving corps in the offseason, few had anything of significance to say about the 24-year-old sophomore throughout the spring.

He’s wasted no time in inserting himself into the offensive picture throughout the early days of camp, however, earning reps with the top offensive units and not looking particularly out of place when playing amongst starters. The prominence with which he’s been featured has surprised several, as has Shavers’ play; head coach Sean McDermott is not among those shocked by the wideout’s emergence, as it’s simply the culmination of what has been, to this point, an incredibly consistent professional career.

Bills wide receiver Tyrell Shavers goes up to get a pass across the middle during route drills. / Shawn Dowd/Rochester Democrat and Chronicle / USA TODAY NETWORK

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“Very impressed,” McDermott said. “Even if you go back to his rookie season, he’s so consistent in, even when he wasn’t playing, with his approach. One of the first players in the building, one of the last to leave. Knows what we’re doing offensively, systematically. 

“He’s, when you look up consistent in the dictionary, his face shows up in my mind, because he’s so consistent, and at a young age. I have a lot of respect and appreciation for that.”

Buffalo’s receiving corps, though reworked given the offseason departures of Stefon Diggs and Gabriel Davis, is crowded; Khalil Shakir, Curtis Samuel, and rookie Keon Coleman—who have all impressed throughout camp—figure to lead the way in the unit while veterans Mack Hollins and Marquez Valdes-Scantling are seemingly penciled into depth roles. There’s realistically only one or two roster spots remaining, with Shavers attempting to stake his claim to one alongside the likes of Chase Claypool, K.J. Hamler, Andy Isabella, and Justin Shorter.

Aug 12, 2023; Orchard Park, New York, USA; Buffalo Bills wide receiver Tyrell Shavers (80) catches a pass and scores a touchdown against the Indianapolis Colts during the second half at Highmark Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Gregory Fisher-USA TODAY Sports / Gregory Fisher-USA TODAY Sports

His early opportunity—and answering of the call—seems to bode well for his roster aspirations. The 6-foot-4 receiver could be a potential red-zone target; he caught 66 passes for 983 yards and six touchdowns throughout his lengthy college career, also reeling in three passes for 45 yards and a score in last year’s preseason.

Aiding significantly in Shavers’ path to the roster is his special teams ability; he was an incredible gunner at San Deigo State and could find further success in the role at the professional level. The Bills are in search of a new gunner after releasing stalwart Siran Neal in the offseason; Shavers could be their guy, and his offensive upside is just the cherry on top.

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