These two Bills players can each cross 1,000 receiving yards in 2024 and there's way too much evidence

I'm going to start this off with a bold prediction. Let's just get it out of the way.

Both Buffalo Bills tight end Dalton Kincaid and wide receiver Khalil Shakir are going to top 1,000 receiving yards this season. I'm not just saying that because it sounds fun – I'm going to make a legitimate case for this not only being in the range of outcomes, but being likely .

Earlier in the offseason, I cautioned Bills Mafia not to let the hype get out of control for Dalton Kincaid entering his second season, despite my love for him both as a prospect and as an NFL contributor, and I fully understand that in writing this article I'm doing exactly the opposite.

It's not my fault. Kincaid is simply that good.

Dalton Kincaid looks like a force of nature throughout training camp

So far, there hasn't been a day throughout training camp where Kincaid has been anything less than spectacular. He's been borderline unstoppable, consistently winning with his route running and his elite hands.

Kincaid has smooth athleticism, and is more of a receiving threat that gets moved around the formation than he is your tradition in-line tight end. In fact, last season, Kincaid lined up in-line on only 20.4% of his snaps, getting 60.3% of his looks from the slot, and a sprinkling of 17.6% lined up out wide. He's going to get lined up all over the place, and throughout training camp, he has been Josh Allen 's go-to guy.

Kincaid had an 80.2% catch percentage in his rookie season, good for the second-best mark amongst NFL tight ends with at least 50 targets last season. He finished with 673 receiving yards, ninth-most in the NFL, with a route tree that still left tons of opportunities to attack down the field. He logged a very healthy 91 targets, but I expect his volume to take a jump into the 120 range, with more looks down the field, putting him firmly in the conversation with elite tight ends around the league.

1,000 yards would be a monster campaign for a tight end. Only one tight end accomplished the feat last year – George Kittle. But on a roster without a dominant wide receiver, Kincaid is cemented right up at the top of the pecking order for targets in the Buffalo offense, and his ability to create space and provide a safety blanket for Allen is noteworthy.

Khalil Shakir has every opportunity to break out

Not to be outdone, however, is Khalil Shakir , who has breakout potential of his own. We saw what he could do late in the season, totaling 536 receiving yards over the final 10 games of the regular season, despite there being three games during that stretch where he saw two or fewer targets.

Did you know Khalil Shakir was one of the best receivers in the entire NFL last season in yards after the catch? Shakir saw only 45 targets during the regular season, but his 7.3 YAC/REC ranked third in the league of qualified wide receivers, behind only Deebo Samuel and Rashee Rice.

That's where Shakir is going to make his bread and butter, and why I believe he is going to command a larger target share heading into 2024 – why? Because when you throw it to him, good things happen. We saw some of this in the first preseason game. Buffalo seemed to prioritize a quick-hitting approach to their passing attack that featured Shakir getting easy targets and space to run after the catch.

It has to be said – there's no Stefon Diggs. Not having an alpha wide receiver that coordinators and the quarterback feel like they have to force feed is no small thing. This offense will truly revolve around Josh Allen taking what's available and distributing it to the open man, while picking and choosing his spots to go down the field.

Between Diggs and Gabriel Davis no longer being on the team, they leave behind a whopping 241 targets . Averaging 13.6 receiving yards per target last season, Shakir would only need to see 74 targets this year to be on track for his first 1,000 yard season. I dare you to tell me that isn't reasonable.

Using Joe Brady's offense in Carolina for context

Let's go back to Carolina's offense a few years back in 2020 when Brady was the offensive coordinator.

The three lead wide receivers on the team were D.J. Moore, Robbie Chosen, and Curtis Samuel (who, intentionally, is now a Bill). The final receiving yard stats for those three were:

• Moore: 1,193 receiving yards
• Anderson: 1,096 receiving yards
• Samuel: 851 receiving yards

The reason why I want to look to this offense is simple – Brady ran an offensive scheme that spread the love between three receivers. That offense also got 1,125 rushing yards out of their running backs, with another 200 going to Samuel, and handfuls here and there going to other receivers on designed touches. Carolina also got all of this production with Teddy Bridgewater at quarterback for a majority of the season, while running the sixth-fewest plays per game in the league. With no disrespect to Teddy Two Gloves, Josh Allen is just ever so slightly better than Bridgewater.

I expect Kincaid and Shakir to be the two primary pass-catching options in terms of volume, with Samuel likely third, and rookie Keon Coleman likely fourth. Running back James Cook and second tight end Dawson Knox will also contribute, but with the expectation of this being a high-volume offense, there should be plenty of meat on the bone for Kincaid and Shakir, the two standouts throughout camp, to both top 1,000 receiving yards in 2024.

Related: Bills’ Josh Allen and Sean McDermott send entire team a clear message after preseason blowout loss

Follow along all season for all the latest Buffalo Bills news. You can also find me on X @JonHelmkamp .