The Buffalo Bills understand that their offense declined last week after putting up solid numbers the first three weeks of the season. Whether it was just a hiccup or due to significant injuries to key players, they need to figure it out to defeat the Los Angeles Rams on Monday Night Football at SoFi Stadium.
With the Bills buying in Week 7, the offense must find a way to involve arguably one of their most overlooked weapons, Khalil Shakir, to jump-start the unit. Especially with uncertainty around D.J. Moore's shoulder injury and whether he'll be playing this week.
Let's take a look at how Khalil Shakir's amazing league-leading stat will help the team going forward.
Josh Allen's most reliable receiver
Khalil Shakir is in his fifth season with the Bills, and he's already become one of Josh Allen's most valuable receivers on the team. The 2022 fifth-round draft pick has improved every year, and Allen knows that when the pressure rises, Shakir can rise to the top, and they can count on each other in the big moments.
In the last two years, Shakir has been the team's leader in receptions and receiving yardage, but is still overlooked by the national media. He had a dominant 2024, catching 76 passes for 821 yards, and in 2025, he caught 72 passes for 719 yards.
Fast forward to Week 5 of the NFL, and he's still being ignored as D.J. Moore and third-year wideout Keon Coleman emerge. With the Bills also using 12-to-13 personnel, Dalton Kincaid leads all NFL tight ends with 270 receiving yards; he's even earning national media attention. As for Shakir, he continues to be underestimated, and yet he is still doing his job with zero complaints and zero concerns.
The reliable receiver is also the player who is creating the most separation. In four games this season, Shakir is leading the league in yards of separation.
Per Gridiron Stats and Info, Skakir is earning approximately 4.5 yards of separation per route. That's a bit above Jaylen Waddle (Denver Broncos) and Kalif Raymond (Chicago Bears), both tied for second at 4.2 yards of separation.
Khalil Shakir must see more production
The only thing left to question is why isn't Shakir getting more passes coming his way? He leads the team with 23 targets, but that's because Moore has been out of two contests with a shoulder injury, and Coleman usually serves as the third wideout.
Shakir averages 11.7 yards per reception, and while they generally don't feature him in the red zone, he creates a great deal of space. Maybe it's time to change things up and spotlight him there, to give the team the spark it needs to get the offense moving again.
Maybe Moore should sit this game out and rest
Even though Moore hasn't missed a game in a very long time, the Bills may want to rest Moore so his shoulder has some time to heal.
He has aggravated his shoulder injury with the Bills and still has 12 receptions for 178 yards and 1 touchdown. If the Bills rest him for Monday Night's game against the Rams, it may open the door for Shakir to become Allen's go-to receiver once again.
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