Bills Camp Position Preview: Receivers - Projected Starters, One to Watch

As the Buffalo Bills prepare for the upcoming season, several roster hopefuls will use the coming weeks to make their respective cases to earn a spot on the 53-man final product.

With the Bills having concluded mandatory minicamp, all eyes will soon be on training camp for position battles and individual performances.

Though the offense will certainly have a different look heading into the upcoming NFL season, they still face an uphill battle in replacing the productivity of receivers Stefon Diggs and Gabe Davis,

In that vein, here is our early positional preview of the Bills’ receivers.

Cred: WGRZ-TV

Current Depth:

Khalil Shakir, Marquez Valdes-Scantling, Justin Shorter, Tyrell Shavers, Keon Coleman, Chase Claypool, K.J. Hamler, Bryan Thompson, Curtis Samuel, Mack Hollins, Andy Isabella, Xavier Johnson

Projected Starters:

Khalil Shakir

The Bills originally selected Shakir in the fifth round, No. 148 overall, of the 2022 NFL draft. In his rookie season, he appeared in 14 games and recorded 10 receptions for 161 receiving yards and one receiving touchdown. Shakir's role expanded in 2023. Despite a slow start to the season as Buffalo's third receiver on the depth chart, Shakir finished the 2023 season with 611 receiving yards and two touchdowns, catching 39 of 45 targets, which was the top catch percentage by any receiver in the league at 86.7 percent.

Keon Coleman

Buffalo seemingly believes they have found their future top receiver by selecting Coleman with the No. 33 overall pick. Last season for Florida State, he earned 50 catches for 658 yards and 11 touchdowns. The 6-4, 215-pounder has good size with quickness, athleticism, and exceptional ball skills. Though some have questioned whether his size could impede his ability to get separation at the pro level, he moves well for a big wideout and presents size-mismatch problems for opposing defensive backs. In fact, he has already turned in a handful of aesthetically-pleasing plays during rookie minicamp and OTAs.

Curtis Samuel

Samuel signed a three-year free agent deal with the Bills this offseason and is expected to be the team’s primary option in the slot. He was selected by the Carolina Panthers in the second round of the 2017 NFL draft, with whom he played four seasons. The Ohio State product spent the next three years with the Washington Commanders. During his seven-year career, Samuel has compiled 3.383 yards on 317 catches, 22 of which went for scores. He has also run for 715 yards with seven rushing touchdowns.

One to Watch: Chase Claypool

After being selected by the Pittsburgh Steelers in the second-round (No. 49 overall) in the 2020 NFL Draft, the Notre Dame product had begun to emerge as one of the NFL's most intriguing targets.

However, questions surrounding his engagement and effort clouded what had begun as a promising career. Following a lackluster end to his Steelers tenure, as well as stagnant stays with both the Chicago Bears and Miami Dolphins, Claypool found himself treading water in free agency this offseason.

With the Bills, he has the ability to redeem himself. In addition to working with Allen, arguably the most accomplished quarterback with which he's played outside of Ben Roethlisberger, Claypool should have the chance to showcase his multi-faceted skill set. Known for his ability to make eye-opening catches, the 6-4, 238-pound wideout struggled to get the separation necessary to gain yards after the catch.

However, when properly engaged, Claypool has showcased the speed he flashed during his pre-draft workouts in 2020 when he ran a 4.42-second 40-yard dash. Combined with his 40.5-inch vertical leap several NFL scouts suggested that he could be used in both receiver and tight end alignments.

In 58 career regular-season games, Claypool has compiled 2,261 yards on 175 catches and 13 touchdowns.

Best of the Rest: Marquez Valdes-Scantling 

Valdes-Scantling played with Rodgers in Green Bay from 2018-2021. During that span, he caught 123 passes for 2,153 yards and 13 touchdowns. In addition to their success on the field, the South Florida product also remains grateful for the life lessons he learned from Rodgers. Those lessons have served him well, both in life and on the field — especially when suiting up alongside MVP-caliber quarterbacks.

Having joined the Chiefs in 2022, Valdes-Scantling immediately made an impact on the team, nearly setting a new career-high for single-season receiving yards by finishing with 687 (his highest total of 690 came in 2020) yards on a career-best 42 catches. During his two seasons of catching passes from Mahomes, he logged 1,002 yards on 63 receptions the three touchdowns.