While the Buffalo Bills try to make James Cook happy, Tre’Davious White is working to hold his starting job. However, here is the most fierce positional battle to watch in the Bills’ 2025 training camp.
The Bills have been criticized for not putting top-end talent at the receiver position to make quarterback Josh Allen even more dangerous. This year, the team will enter the season with either Khalil Shakir or Keon Coleman as WR1. Not surprisingly, neither of those guys ranks in the top 32 among NFL receivers, according to Pro Football Focus.
And that means the wide receiver position is a free-for-all battle with six total players heavy in the mix for snaps.
Can Bills WR Khalil Shakir be a lead dog?
The Bills have been seen as a little arrogant about their receiver situation. But they point to the offensive production in 2024 to dismiss the criticism.
Still, offensive coordinator Joe Brady said the offense can’t rely on the past, according to the Buffalo Bills YouTube page via buffalobills.com.
“You don’t get to pick off where you left off, and we really don’t want to,” Brady said. “Josh embodies that, we’re starting over. When it’s install one, it’s the most basic. We have to master the system at every level. Sometimes you think you know everything, if you really humble yourself to just starting over, there’s always little things you can pick up.”
“With a guy like Josh, you get the MVP, you’re trying to just continue to challenge him in ways, and he wants it all. But every year is a new year.”
For Allen to rock and fire again in 2025, he will need someone other than Shakir or Coleman to make plays. Could it be one of the newcomers? Josh Palmer, Elijah Moore, and Laviska Shenault joined the team in the offseason through free agency. They will battle for the WR3 spot along with Curtis Samuel.
How does WR Joshua Palmer fit in the mix?
Palmer currently has a leg up, according to the Bills’ depth chart on espn.com. He ranked seventh in the NFL in average depth of target, according to sumersports.com. And that makes him the right guy for verticality in the Bills’ offense, Brady said.
“He’s been a seamless fit for our room,” said offensive coordinator Joe Brady. “He’s a guy that can play all the positions, play inside, play outside. It was a great get for us.”
As for Moore, he arrived after the NFL Draft. He’s only been in the league for four years, but is already a journeyman. This is his third team after being drafted in the second round by the Jets in 2021. He played for the Browns in 2023-24.
Meanwhile, Sheault hasn’t been able to shine after a promising rookie season in 2020. He caught 58 passes for 600 yards with five scores that season. But he has revisited the end zone only one time since then.
Still, Shenault said he has confidence, according to One Bills Live via buffalobills.com.
“I’m the type of guy, I get the ball in my hand, I make things happen,” Shenault said. “That’s just what they tell me, they’re gonna find ways to get the ball in my hand anyway possible. But we know my biggest role will probably be special teams. I’m just going to take advantage of any opportunity.”
But now he’s on the field with Allen, and that could mean bigger and better things.
Do Bills have other options at WR?
As for Samuel, he’s also a former second-round pick. He spent his first four seasons with the Panthers before playing for the Commanders from 2021-23. His numbers have been up and down. And last year he managed only 31 catches for 253 yards with one score. It’s hard to imagine Samuel carving out a significant role.
However, the one thing the Bills don’t have at the receiver position is a player who can take the lid off of opposing defenses — unless Moore finds a spot in the starting lineup.
Head coach Sean McDermott acknowledged the need back in February, according to atozsports.com, but the Bills didn’t draft a top-end guy who could start and stretch the field.
“Without getting too much into strategy and whatnot, I am a believer in that speed stretching the field, not just vertically, but horizontally. And vertically, I think it just opens up a defense,” McDermott said. “So I thought we did that at times, probably not enough this year. And not just, you know, throwing the ball deep.
“It doesn’t always mean that. It means taking a short pass and taking it for some good RAC yards for us in production. So I thought overall, we did some good things. And at wide receiver room, I really do. Can you always benefit from having more speed? Absolutely.”
So does that mean Moore trumps Palmer for the WR3 spot? Time will tell, but the Bills may need this element if they want to finally dethrone King Patrick.
