CBS Sports: Bills WR group among NFL's 'top training camp battles'

The Bills roster has seen a lot of changes this offseason, resulting in a lot of new faces who will be taking the field for Buffalo’s training camp this week.

There are some position groups of interest due to turnover on both sides of the call for the club, but one, in particular, stands out as a bit more magnified in terms of visibility that coaches, fans, and the press will be watching closely.

CBS Sports writer Cody Benjamin provided his take on where he sees the most intriguing competitions among position groups on each of the teams in the National Football League.

He even cited the Bills specifically, entitling his article as the Top 2024 NFL training camp battles to watch: Steelers QBs, Bills WRs, Eagles CBs have strong competitions.

In it, Benjamin zeroed in on the Bills receivers group as one of those intriguing training camp competitions, and with good reason.

The Bills’ two primary receivers in recent years, Stefon Diggs and Gabe Davis, both left the team earlier this year by way of trade and free agency, respectively.

Diggs led the team in receiving yards last season with 1,183 yards and 160 targets, and Davis followed with 746 yards and 81 targets. Both players saw their roles gradually reduced over the course of the second half of the season, as new OC Joe Brady and QB Josh Allen gradually went to targets like WR Khalil Shakir and TE Dalton Kincaid.

Their targets and productivity will now be created by big targets in the passing game such as TE’s Dawson Knox and Kincaid, as well as a refreshed receiver room.

Returning pass catchers like third-year man Khalil Shakir, Andy Isabella, Justin Shorter, and Tyrell Shavers are now joined by 2024 NFL Draft pick Keon Coleman as well as veterans like journeymen Mack Hollins, former Chief Marquez Valdes-Scantling, as well as Chase Claypool, and K.J. Hamler.

The result is what could perhaps be the most depth the team has had at receiver and the most competitive camp competition at the position that Buffalo has had under head coach Sean McDermott.

Here’s what Benjamin had to say…

Bills WRs

The competition: Curtis Samuel vs. Marquez Valdes-Scantling vs. Keon Coleman vs. Khalil Shakir

No longer deploying a bona fide No. 1 after Stefon Diggs‘ exit, the Bills are instead set to lean on a plethora of chess pieces. Samuel and Shakir are prime candidates to man the slot, with Valdes-Scantling serving as the outside deep threat and Coleman using his jump-ball skills in the red area.