A 2022 fifth-round pick with average physical traits, Shakir has improved his role and production with each passing season, becoming valuable to the Bills despite rarely venturing downfield. A lot of his stats from last season resemble those of a tight end -- 76 percent catch rate, 10.8 yards per reception, 5.4 aDOT -- and his 597 yards after the catch were third most among WRs even though 33 receivers had more targets than his 100. Shakir also finished top 20 at the position in target rate (24.4 percent of routes) and yards per route (2.00), numbers that typically correspond with something like WR2 fantasy value. Instead, he was more of a WR3 in PPR leagues, and not even that under standard scoring, limited by a lack of playing time in formations with fewer than three WRs. That's especially problematic in Buffalo, where the offense makes frequent trips to the red zone and relies on power rather than finesse upon getting there. That's part of why Shakir's list of outlier stats is such a long one, including just three career drops and three targets inside the 10-yard line. Most of those trends figure to continue, at least to some extent, as there's no immediate reason for the Bills to shift back to the spread-out, pass-happy attack they deployed prior to making Joe Brady their playcaller in mid-2023.
