With the commencement of the 2024 NFL season now firmly in our view, analysts and pundits from around the league are offering last-minute predictions that, instead of being based on pure speculation, are fueled by a summer’s worth of practice and chatter. ESPN’s Dan Graziano recently compiled some of the information he’s gathered throughout the summer into an article in which he predicts one “surprise” for each NFL club in the 2024 campaign; the reporter’s pick for the Buffalo Bills is not all that surprising, however, as he predicts that third-year contributor Khalil Shakir will finish the season as the team’s leading receiver.
Graziano mentions Buffalo’s offseason decision to move on from Stefon Diggs, the success it found under now-full-time offensive coordinator Joe Brady down the stretch last season, and Shakir’s experience with quarterback Josh Allen as reasons why the 24-year-old could be in for a big 2024.
“Obviously, the Bills have high hopes for rookie Keon Coleman, and they’re planning on some sort of role for free agent signee Curtis Samuel,” Graziano wrote. “But Shakir is a third-year player who has been working with Josh Allen for much longer than Coleman (and Kincaid), and the Bills have been very happy with his progress this offseason. Shakir quietly had 611 receiving yards last season.”
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The writer is sound in his analysis, as there’s a very real avenue for Shakir to finish the 2024 campaign as the Bills’ leading wideout. He’s made the most of his opportunities throughout his first two professional seasons, particularly flashing in a 2023 campaign in which he caught 39 passes for 611 yards and two scores. He became an offensive mainstay after Brady took over as offensive coordinator in Week 11, catching 20 passes for 363 yards over the final seven games of the season and another 10 passes for 75 yards in the playoffs. He’s the only wide receiver on Buffalo’s roster who has caught a pass from Allen in a regular season game, something that could bode well for his regular season usage.
He’s already established a rapport with Allen, this demonstrated by the duo topping the NFL in “catchable target rate” last season at 91.1%, per PFF. Shakir is a smooth route runner who has a seemingly innate ability to get open, and he’s one of two pass catchers (the other being second-year tight end Dalton Kincaid) whose role doesn’t seem to be all that volatile. He’ll have a prominent offensive presence throughout the entire year, something that could see him top his position group in receiving yards come the end of the campaign.
Shakir’s potential breakout has been oft-discussed throughout the summer, but as we near the start of the season, it looks as though two of his cohorts in the receiving corps may have higher offensive ceilings. Curtis Samuel, who inked a three-year deal with the Bills in the offseason, didn’t see significant preseason usage due to an injury, but his role in training camp saw him line up in a myriad of spots, including out wide, in the slot, and in the backfield; the idea of the 27-year-old being Buffalo’s primary weapon isn’t egregious. Second-round draft pick Keon Coleman also showed signs of promise throughout the summer and could shock many early in the campaign; if he becomes a trusted target early, he could easily lead the team in receiving come the end of the year.
Shakir likely has a higher floor than his colleagues, but his ceiling remains to be seen. Thankfully, we don’t need to inhabit the world of hypotheticals for much longer, as the Bills kick off their 2024 campaign against the Arizona Cardinals on September 8.
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