The Buffalo Bills are heading into the 2024 NFL season looking for a number of players to step up on both sides of the football as the team tries to compete for a title.
One of those players is wide receiver Khalil Shakir, and there is someone who sees the potential for a great receiver.
Sports Illustrated’s Conor Orr recently wrote a list of 100 bold predictions for the upcoming NFL season that run the gamut from potential winning streaks to who he sees as winning the Super Bowl. One of those predictions has Shakir doing something that would delight all of Bills Mafia if it were to come true:
Khalil Shakir will lead all Bills wideouts in receptions. According to most websites that are currently listing projected depth charts, Shakir is listed as a starting wide receiver alongside free-agent signing Curtis Samuel and rookie Keon Coleman. While Orr’s prediction is somewhat realistic, his reasoning for the prediction is something that should make everyone think hard.
Former coworker and current blood rival at The Athletic Gary Gramling was first on the Shakir train back when Buffalo selected the Boise State product in the fifth round. After the Bills cleared out their wide receiver room, they made way for a pass catcher who gives off serious (Los Angeles Rams wide receiver) Cooper Kupp vibes.
Saying that Shakir could lead a Bills team that traded away star receiver Stefon Diggs and let Gabe Davis walk in free agency is one thing, but saying that Shakir gives up vibes of Kupp is something else.
Kupp is one of the better wide receivers in the league, and while he has dealt with injuries over the past two seasons, he is not too far removed from leading the NFL in receptions, receiving yards, receiving touchdowns and receiving yards per game.
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