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Dave Ventresca analyzes Buffalo Bills wide receiver Khalil Shakir's 2024 fantasy football outlook. How is his fantasy value impacted by the Stefon Diggs trade?
The Houston Texans further shook the fantasy football landscape when they traded for disgruntled Buffalo Bills wide receiver Stefon Diggs. With Gabe Davis also departing in free agency, Buffalo is now down its top-two receivers from last year. As a result, there are 241 vacated targets up for grabs in the Bills offense.
While Buffalo will surely look to add to its receiving room in the NFL Draft, several in-house options could emerge. One player in a position to capitalize is third-year receiver Khalil Shakir.
Make sure you keep up to date with all your fantasy football needs by following RotoBaller on X and checking out RotoBaller.com. Let’s take a closer look at Shakir and figure out what exactly we can expect for his 2024 season.
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Khalil Shakir Fantasy Football Outlook
Shakir came on strong late last year. 536 of his 611 receiving yards came from Weeks 8-18. Quarterback Josh Allen began looking Shakir’s way whenever the team needed a big play and Shakir was able to deliver.
Khalil Shakir pinballing his way through the Steelers D ⚡️ pic.twitter.com/lRgHZkVCT8
— PlayerProfiler (@rotounderworld) January 16, 2024
Out of 128 wide receivers, Shakir was Pro Football Focus’s 32nd-highest-graded receiver in 2023. He also finished 18th in Next Gen Stats Average Separation (SEP). Shakir might have some untapped potential.
Per Fantasy Points Data Suite, Shakir played 78.2% of snaps from the slot last year. This usage clearly shows the Bills see him best in a slot receiver role. There is a path to fantasy relevance for Shakir in such a role. Cole Beasley enjoyed success as a slot receiver playing with Allen. In 2020, Beasley finished as the PPR WR26. He did so on only 107 targets and an 18% target share.
The addition of Curtis Samuel does complicate things. It’s unclear exactly what type of role play-caller Joe Brady has in mind for Samuel and how that will affect Shakir. We also need to factor in the high likelihood that Buffalo adds to its receiver room in the NFL Draft. These are hurdles Shakir will need to clear to become a fantasy-viable player.
Overall, Shakir presents sneaky third-year breakout potential. His current National Fantasy Football Championship (NFFC) average draft position (ADP) is 150th overall. This makes Shakir a good dart throw late in drafts. It’s unlikely the youngster will develop into Buffalo’s WR1. He doesn’t profile as such. However, if the cards fall his way, he can be a fantastic WR3 or flex player in PPR leagues.
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