The Buffalo Bills have six new faces at receiver that they brought in over the offseason. With all this change, not everyone will have a seat at the table known as the final 53-man roster.
With that said, as we are just days away from training camp, here is how I see the Bills’ depth chart looking at wide receiver come Week 1.
Keon Coleman
The rookie out of Florida State is going to be the No. 1 boundary receiver for the Bills. He is tremendous in gaining separation at the line of scrimmage, which will greatly benefit Josh Allen, and he is very good after the catch. Buffalo will be more of a “death by a thousand cuts” offense this season, and Coleman will provide several gushing blows to opposing defenses.
Curtis Samuel
Samuel will be used in a variety of ways - on the perimeter, in the slot, some gadget stuff in the backfield - he can do it all. He’s coming off consecutive years of 60+ catches, and that proven talent and ability will go a long way for Buffalo.
Khalil Shakir
If you want to argue that Samuel and Shakir should be flipped, I wouldn’t push back too much. He’s the only receiver on the roster who has caught a pass from Allen, after all. However, his placement isn’t a slight. He’ll be the team’s starter in the slot, and you can certainly expect another jump in his production in Year Three.
Marquez Valdes-Scantling
MVS is going to be used the same way the Chiefs used him - run blocking and deep shots. He only caught 21 passes in 2023, which was half of his career-high 42 in 2022. However, he’s an upgrade from Trent Sherfield as a depth deep ball receiver.
Chase Claypool
Claypool isn’t a deep threat and the Bills need to learn from the mistakes of the Bears and Steelers and realize that. If they utilize him as a power underneath receiver and as a guy who can take up space in the run game, he can have a nice role in the offense.
Justin Shorter
A lot of Bills fans are excited about Shorter and expect him to take the jump from practice squad player to the 53-man roster. He was a big play waiting to happen while at Florida, averaging just under 20 yards per reception in 2022 with two touchdowns. He has a higher ceiling than Mack Hollins, who had just 18 catches with the Falcons in 2023.
