The wide receiver position was expected to be a point of focus for the Buffalo Bills after an underwhelming season last year. The team still has Stefon Diggs but Gabe Davis was going to be a free agent and seemed destined to be playing somewhere else in 2024. That came to fruition as Davis would sign a big three-year contract with the Jacksonville Jaguars.
In addition to Davis, Trent Sherfield was also a free agent and he has signed a one-year deal with the Minnesota Vikings. Right before free agency, the Bills would also release Deonte Harty who played a smaller role on offense.
After all these moves, this would leave only Diggs and Khalil Shakir as the wide receivers who played meaningful snaps at the position. In addition to those two, the Bills have Justin Shorter (who was a fifth round pick last year) along with Andy Isabella and Tyrell Shavers (who spent most of the season on the practice squad).
Over the past few days, the Bills have gone ahead and added two free agent wide receivers to help bolster the position. One of the first moves was signing Mack Hollins, whose impact will go beyond the box score as he doesn't have a lot of receptions but is an excellent run-blocking wide receiver.
However, the biggest move at the position was reportedly on Thursday as the Buffalo Bills agreed to a three-year deal with Curtis Samuel. He is a smaller wide receiver who has almost exclusively played in the slot over the past few seasons and last year had the 12th most snaps out of the slot.
What could the Buffalo Bills depth chart currently look like after the recent free agent moves?
Based on some of these recent moves, this is probably where the depth chart stands currently:
Outside Wide Receiver: Stefon Diggs (Justin Shorter)
Outside Wide Receiver: Khalil Shakir/Mack Hollins
Slot Receiver: Curtis Samuel (Khalil Shakir)
The one thing that really jumps out is that there is some versatility and Joe Brady is able to move some players around. At this point, the Bills likely will go into the season with Shakir and Hollins splitting the role that Gabe Davis held. Shakir is probably better suited in the slot but can play outside and has improved as a run blocker.
In the slot, this should primarily be Curtis Samuel but he is versatile enough that he could line up in the backfield and in those situations Shakir could step in at that position. While the Bills should feel confident in this group, the moves don't necessarily stop them from drafting a wide receiver early in the 2024 NFL Draft and that could change what this depth chart looks like by the time the 2024 season rolls around.