Joe Buscaglia of The Athletic isn’t confident a full-time WR3 will emerge in Buffalo. WRs Khalil Shakir, Deonte Harty, and Trent Sherfield — plus TE Dalton Kincaid — are competing for snaps. “Don’t be surprised if this battle continues into the regular season and the team uses a hot-hand approach with all of them,” Buscaglia concludes. A Round 1 pick, Kincaid brings the most intrigue. The issue? Fantasy drafters are treating him as a fringe starter with a TE13 ADP (FFPC). Shakir made a few big plays last year, then watched the Bills sink $5.2 million guaranteed into Harty. Even Sherfield generated some buzz in OTAs. We’re ultimately talking about deep league fliers, although training camp could push one name into your best ball strategy.
Bills WR Khalil Shakir has had a strong offseason so far and "is going to push hard for prime snaps in the Bills’ three-receiver set," The Buffalo News' Mark Gaughan writes. Shakir played limited snaps as a rookie last year but flashed with 16.1 yards per catch on his 10 grabs. With Isaiah McKenzie gone, we consider Shakir the favorite for the No. 3 WR job heading into training camp, with Deonte Harty providing the primary competition.
Bills GM Brandon Beane said that the team envisions WR Deonte Harty filling the “four role." Harty got a surprisingly lucrative two-year, $9.5 million deal from Buffalo, but it doesn't sound like he's slated for an every-down job on offense. (Not surprising considering he's just 5'6 and 170 lbs.) With WR Isaiah McKenzie likely on the outs, Stefon Diggs, Gabriel Davis, and Khalil Shakir currently project as the Bills' top three WRs. We'll see if they add another WR in the draft.
The Bills are expected to sign WR Deonte Harty to a two-year deal, according to NFL Network's Ian Rapoport. The contract will reportedly include $9.5 million total, with $5 million of that fully guaranteed. Incentives could push it to a $13.5 million max value. Those numbers don't guarantee a significant offensive role for Harty, who has done his best work as a return man. Harty collected 64 total receptions and 15 rushing attempts across four years with the Saints, compared with 152 total returns. He figures to push RB Nyheim Hines out of the primary return role. We'll see if Buffalo plans to let Harty compete with Isaiah McKenzie and Khalil Shakir for more on offense. If it does, Harty's speed would make him an intriguing late-round flier. You can consider him near the end of best ball drafts now for that reason.
Bills WR Isaiah McKenzie (hamstring) is inactive for today's Wild Card game vs. the Dolphins. That leaves WRs Cole Beasley, Khalil Shakir and John Brown behind Stefon Diggs and Gabriel Davis. Beasley is the most natural fill-in for McKenzie's slot role.
Bills WR Isaiah McKenzie (hamstring) didn't practice again on Friday and is officially listed as questionable for Sunday's Wild Card game vs. the Dolphins. Should McKenzie miss this contest, WRs Cole Beasley and Khalil Shakir could see a bump in opportunity running slot routes. The Dolphins' primary slot CB Kader Kohou has allowed 50+ yards to opposing WRs in 3 of the team's last 5 contests. Something to consider for fantasy managers participating in playoff contests/formats.
Bills WR Isaiah McKenzie (hamstring) was downgraded to missing practice on Thursday after logging limited participation the day before. It'll be interesting to see if McKenzie can ramp up activity Friday or else he may be in danger of missing Sunday's Wild Card game vs. the Dolphins. Should he sit, WRs Khalil Shakir and Cole Beasley could see a boost in responsibility running out of the slot. We'll keep everyone posted as more information becomes available.
Bills WR Isaiah McKenzie (concussion) put in a full week of practice and isn’t listed on the final injury report. He’ll return for Sunday’s showdown with the Chiefs. We’ll see if McKenzie loses some slot snaps to WR Khalil Shakir, but McKenzie definitely has upside in this matchup.
Bills WR Isaiah McKenzie has cleared concussion protocol, HC Sean McDermott said Wednesday. So, barring a setback, McKenzie will return for this weekend's showdown vs. the Chiefs. We're projecting him to take back over as Buffalo's primary slot receiver, but WR Khalil Shakir could steal some snaps after a strong showing in McKenzie's place last week.
Bills WR Isaiah McKenzie (concussion) is inactive for today’s game vs. the Steelers. That leaves rookie Khalil Shakir as Buffalo’s #3 WR – and a nice cheap flier in DFS lineups.
Bills WR Isaiah McKenzie (concussion) is listed as questionable for this weekend's game vs. the Steelers. He got in limited practices on Thursday and Friday but still has work to do to clear protocol. We should get another update on McKenzie by Sunday morning. With WR Jamison Crowder and Jake Kumerow out with their ankle injuries, McKenzie's absence would leave rookie Khalil Shakir as Buffalo's #3 WR.
Bills WR Isaiah McKenzie (concussion) did not practice on Wednesday. He has a ways to go in order to be cleared in time for Sunday's game vs. the Steelers. With WRs Jamison Crowder (ankle) out and WR Jake Kumerow (ankle) likely out, Buffalo might be down to rookie Khalil Shakir as its #3 WR.
Bills WR Jamison Crowder broke his left ankle in Sunday's win over the Ravens, according to NFL Network's Ian Rapoport. Doctors are still determining the extent of other damage to the ankle, but Crowder is almost certainly done for the year. That should mean more control over the slot WR position for Isaiah McKenzie, who left Sunday's game with a concussion. If McKenzie can't go in Week 5, rookie Khalil Shakir might be running as a top 3 WR against Pittsburgh.
Bills WR Gabriel Davis (ankle) is officially inactive for tonight's game vs. the Titans. Rookie WR Khalil Shakir is active and figures to pick up some of Davis' work. He's an intriguing DFS flier.
Bills WR Gabriel Davis (ankle) is not expected to play vs. the Titans tonight, "barring a surprise," according to ESPN's Jeremy Fowler. "Team has held out hope but playing was considered an uphill battle since Saturday's injury," Fowler tweets. We'll see if Davis can make it back for this coming Sunday's game vs. the Dolphins. His absence figures to mean WR Khalil Shakir's debut, although the rookie is really only an option in DFS. Stefon Diggs, Isaiah McKenzie, Jamison and Dawson Knox are candidates for extra targets with Davis out.
Joe Buscaglia of The Athletic writes that rookie WR Khalil Shakir "has been outstanding this summer, to the point that the Bills are likely trying to find ways to get him involved on game days." Shakir has apparently gone from being viewed as a slot receiver to getting a lot of reps on the outside. Shakir has a shot to hit the regular season as the #4 WR, or at least the backup to Stefon Diggs and Gabriel Davis. Perhaps more importantly, the impressive 1st camp makes it easier to like Shakir's long-term upside in dynasty leagues.
The Athletic’s Joe Buscaglia writes that WR Khalil Shakir has enjoyed an “excellent” training camp. Buscaglia notes the rookie’s ability to play inside and outside while also pointing out some potential return value. Shakir, a 5th-round pick, will certainly start out buried on Buffalo’s depth chart, but he’s a name to file away in deep formats. Current projections have Josh Allen pegged for the 4th-most pass attempts league-wide.
Bills WR Khalil Shakir has been an early standout in training camp, with multiple beat writers praising his play. Shakir has "looked sharp," Sal Capaccio wrote. "The rookie wideout was all over the field on Monday, catching passes at all different levels and spots." It's been assumed that Jamison Crowder and Isaiah McKenzie are competing for the starting slot receiver job, but don't count out Shakir.
The Bills opened training camp Sunday morning with WR Isaiah McKenzie running in the slot with the 1st team, according to Aaron Quinn of the Cover 1 Buffalo podcast. Veteran free-agent addition Jamison Crowder, meanwhile, was splitting 2nd-team reps with rookie Khalil Shakir. It could just be the Bills leaning toward the incumbent to open camp, but the Buffalo News also called McKenzie the "slight favorite" to win the starting slot gig earlier in the week. The Bills added Crowder on just a 1-year, $2 million contract -- far from starter money for a WR. We'll keep watching this competition through the summer. It looks like we should at least consider McKenzie the leader for now, though.
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