#Bills’ Josh Allen on Khalil Shakir: ‘I have a lot of trust in him’
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With the Bills offseason program in full swing, coaches and players are getting early reads on who contributors might be on both sides of the ball when the start of the regular season arrives.
GM Brandon Beane has been active in reloading on offense, where coordinator Ken Dorsey will be tasked with creating opportunities for reliable receiving options and weapons after WR1 Stefon Diggs.
There have been questions as to who the second and third go-to players will be, as well as who will take on the Cole Beasley-like role in the slot and on third down.
One of those options is 2022 fifth-round NFL Draft pick Khalil Shakir, who showed flashes of potential in limited action during his rookie campaign.
He’s since made strides in his offseason work to develop at the pro level going into his second season, working out with former Bills receiver Eric Moulds and more recently earning a vote of confidence from one of the most important members of the organization, QB Josh Allen.
“I have a lot of trust in him,” Allen said to the Buffalo News. “I think he’s only going to continue to grow in his role.”
“He knows his position. He knows the ‘Z,’ he knows the ‘X.’ He’s going to have a really good year,” he added. “I’m not quite sure what (Shakir’s role will be) and how it’s going to look like for everybody, but the dude shows up every day with a smile on his face. He’s ready to work. He works extremely hard, and our relationship on the field is growing, just reading his body language and such. So, I’m very excited about what he’s showing right now and what he has to offer for this team.”
With Stefon Diggs and Gabe Davis leading the team in receiving yards last season, and TE Dawson Knox helped carry a substantial part of that workload later in their 2022 campaign questions have been raised about who else can help command the attention of opposing defenses as a reliable contributor.
Receivers Trent Sherfield, Deonte Harty, Marcell Ateman, and Justin Shorter have since joined the receivers group to vie for that type of role. With the addition of TE2 Dalton Kincaid in the recent NFL Draft, in-game opportunities are going to become that much more valuable for those players as the Bills figure to run more 12-personnel two tight end sets with one running back and two receivers.
“Definitely, a year in this offense helps out a lot,” Shakir said about the advantage his time with the team gives him in that position battle. “When you first get here, you’re learning all the plays from all the different positions, so being in it a year, it definitely feels like things have slowed down a little bit, but at the same time, still have a lot to learn within the offense, as well, so continuing to grow every day is also on my mind, as well.”
“He’s a conceptual learner, and he’s fine-tuning and getting better at his craft,” wide receivers coach Adam Henry said. “I’m just telling him the ins and outs and just owning the multiple roles and knowing the whole offense. When we first got together, nobody had a position – he just learned the offense – and now we’re sectioning off to where we’re going. He’s really, really progressing in the details of his routes and making sure he’s (improving) on the top of his routes and his breaks.”
Shakir finished his rookie season with 10 catches and 161 yards with a touchdown and 91 yards receiving during the Bills playoff games.
“My mind is on ‘Control what you can control.’ Showing up every day and putting my best foot forward is something I can control,” Shakir added. “Trent and Harty, having those guys in the room, they’re awesome. We all bond pretty well, help each other out when we’re out there on the field. If I’m doing something wrong, the receiver room, as a whole, will be one of the first to point it out and let me know, so it’s been great.”
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