'Underrated' wide receiver part of Bills' plans for replacing Stefon Diggs

There's no denying that things will look different in Buffalo this year. Many of the roster pillars on which the Bills have leaned are no longer with the club, including arguably most significantly the team's star No. 1 wide receiver, Stefon Diggs .

It's fair to ask questions about what the offensive game plan will look like, but it's equally fair to simply say we don't have the information to make an educated guess on that yet. That unknown isn't exactly a recipe for peace of mind.

In the unknown, there are plenty of reasons for optimism, including third-year wide receiver Khalil Shakir, who was named the Bills most underrated player by Sports Illustrated. Maybe he's the key to this new-look Buffalo offense.

Khalil Shakir came on strong late in the 2023 NFL season

Shakir was a fifth round pick in the 2022 NFL Draft, and has steadily improved throughout his young career. Late last season, on a roster marred by constant injuries and through what appeared to be a struggling Diggs, Shakir became a go-to target for quarterback Josh Allen.

From Week 8 through the end of the season, the Bills passing attack spread the ball around to various targets. Allen became a distributor that took what defenses would give him. Over that time period, Shakir led the team in receiving yards per game (53.6) despite seeing fewer targets than other receivers.

More work could be in store for Khalil Shakir

Shakir did his work in the second half of the season on 3.6 targets per game. Over the same timespan, Diggs averaged 50.5 yards per game on a robust 8.3 targets. Gabe Davis, who is also no longer on the roster, averaged 39.9 yards and 4.6 targets per game, and everyone's favorite breakout tight end, Dalton Kincaid, averaged 48 yards and 6.6 targets.

Diggs and Davis leave behind 241 targets. Rookie Keon Coleman will get looks on the outside, but even if he hits a 100-target rookie season, which only four rookies accomplished last year, there would still be 141 targets to go around.

With all those available looks, Shakir could be a huge benefactor. 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. That seems well within reach.

Starting offensive tackle Dion Dawkins took to "The Insiders" on NFL Network and spoke about life without Diggs.

"I think every year the team looks different. We play in a league where there's going to be changes of pieces, that pieces are going to shuffle, the chessboard pieces are going to do what they do," Dawkins said. "But when you lose a guy like Stefon [Diggs], you lose a lot of character, like you lose a lot, a lot of character, and you love a lot of, I would say, attitude and swag, because you know, Josh [Allen] is very calming. Diggs is very comfortable and who he was, and he brings a lot of energy everywhere."

Buffalo might not need a No. 1 wide receiver

Buffalo could very well be planning an offense that doesn't have a true No. 1 wide receiver, which seems to be a direction en vogue with offensive coordinators around the league. Think Green Bay, for instance.

Offensive coordinator Joe Brady could be looking at an offense with multiple chess pieces that can play all over the formation, mixing and matching Shakir and free agent signing Curtis Samuel wherever he sees fit, including out of the backfield.

Bills fans don't need to expect any one wide receiver to fill the void left by Diggs, and nor should they. But Shakir will be a key contributor in a new-look Bills offense for 2024.