Khalil

Shakir

Joe Brady said he was one of the team’s best football players and said that there are other ways to get the ball in his hands than just in the screen game. We’re not sure how seriously to take this at the combine, before the Bills bring in what the actual competition will be — we don’t think Shakir is going to take on a bigger role if A.J. Brown or D.J. Moore show up — but it’s at least worthwhile to note that Brady loves Shakir and he seems ticketed to have a major role in the passing offense in 2026.

Shakir led the Bills in catches and targets, as he has for much of the season. Shakir made a few big catches, including one for 46 yards, but the Broncos’ defense is fast and hard-hitting, and prevented him from ripping off chunks of yardage on most of his receptions. Shakir finished the regular season with 72 catches on 95 targets for 719 yards, all of which led the team. He also had four touchdowns, but the Bills’ lack of other receiving weapons forced them to use him as a quick-hitting screen receiver more often than you’d like to see. Hopefully, a more dynamic receiving room in 2026 will open up more opportunities for Shakir to be a trustworthy WR3 in fantasy.

Facing a stout Jacksonville run defense, the Bills chipped away at the Jags with check-downs and screens to Shakir. His 12 catches in this game are three more than his previous career-high. No one on the team other than Shakir logged more than five targets. All in, Shakir earned a 34 percent target share. With Josh Palmer on IR and Gabe Davis now banged up, expect to see plenty more of Shakir in the Divisional Round. He will be a strong play on full PPR slates.

Once again, Shakir led the Bills in targets and catches but had little to show for it with a long gain of just 13 yards. Essentially, everything the Bills throw to Shakir this season is a screen behind the line of scrimmage or a short crosser, and then they ask him to make defenders miss. He also got himself wide open on a two-point conversion that would have won the game, but Josh Allen simply missed him. The 25-year-old is a talented receiver, but he’ll have to hope the Bills bring in some weapons around him next season so that he can go back to being more than a short-yardage safety blanket.

In a game that resulted in just 130 passing yards for the Bills, Shakir led the team in receptions, yards, and targets. His biggest gain of the day came on an 18-yard reception to help set up James Cook for an eventual touchdown, but this was easily one of Shakir’s most forgettable outings of the season. He’ll be hard to trust as anything more than a WR3 in Week 17’s game against the Eagles.

The Bills weren’t able to get much going through the air, throwing for just 193 yards in the entire game, but Shakir was a big part of that, consistently making tough catches over the middle of the field. Sadly, given the state of Buffalo’s passing attack, Shakir needs to do almost all of his damage after the catch, which makes his fantasy ceiling a bit risky. He’s more of a low-end WR3 against the Browns next week.

Shakir worked himself open on a second-quarter play when Josh Allen bought extra time and rolled out to the sideline before threading the needle to the fourth-year receiver for a beautiful touchdown. Shakir was a bit of an afterthought today since the Bills attacked the Bengals with their tight ends all day. The matchup and snowy conditions were a big factor in Shakir’s limited usage; however, he did get tangled up with his own offensive lineman in the third quarter and came up hobbling, so keep an eye on the practice report this week.

The Bills seem convinced that it’s impossible to throw the ball to Shakir more than five yards down the field, which has made the talented 25-year-old very hard to trust. He did have a seemingly sure-fire touchdown catch on a quick slant in the fourth quarter, but Josh Allen threw it behind him, and Shakir was unable to haul it in. Things should get much better next week against the Bengals, a matchup that tends to boost every fantasy-relevant player on the other side this season.

Shakir took a lateral from Josh Palmer 33 yards late in the fourth quarter to convert a 4th and 27. It would have been his most memorable play of the day if not for a fumble he lost in the third quarter that the Texans were able to turn into what proved to be a much-needed field goal. Shakir was far more involved in this week’s game after Week 11’s one-catch dud against the Buccaneers. Thursday night’s game against the Texans resulted in a new season high in receiving yards for Shakir, who hadn’t gone for more than 88 yards in any game this season entering the contest. Shakir’s 10 targets led all Bills players, and were six more than the next closest receiver. His Week 13 target volume will partly depend on whether or not Dalton Kincaid (hamstring) is back in the mix, but Shakir should be on the WR2/WR3 radar for next week against the Steelers.

This will be Coleman’s fourth occasion missing game time due to disciplinary reasons in less than two years in the NFL. Kincaid (hamstring) and Samuel (elbow/neck) are both out due to injury. With Coleman out last week, the Bills relied on a wide receiver rotation including Khalil Shakir, Tyrell Shavers, Gabe Davis, Mecole Hardman, Joshua Palmer and Samuel. Hardman has since been placed on injured reserve. A heavy rotation is still expected against the Texans’ elite pass defense.