Bills news, notes from NFL Scouting Combine: Who Buffalo is eyeing at slot receiver

INDIANAPOLIS - There was an expectation last season that Isaiah McKenzie and free agent acquisition Jamison Crowder would have little trouble filling the Buffalo Bills’ void at slot receiver left by the release of Cole Beasley.

Well, that clearly did not happen as Crowder broke his ankle in Week 4 and never played again, and with an increase from 24% of the offensive snaps in 2021 to 54% in 2022, McKenzie struggled with consistency and did not take advantage of his additional playing time.

That duo combined for 48 catches for 483 yards and four TDs, way off Beasley’s 2021 season of 82 receptions for 693 yards and a TD.

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The Bills were so desperate to get viable production from the slot that they pulled the retired Beasley off the street late in the season in the hope that he could reprise his role as Josh Allen’s favorite short yardage security blanket. He didn’t as he caught just seven passes for 86 yards and a TD in four games counting the playoffs.

So what do the Bills do at slot receiver as the start of the 2023 league year dawns?

Receivers at the NFL Scouting Combine the Buffalo Bills may be interested in

With the receivers at the Scouting Combine about to hit the field at Lucas Oil Stadium for their workout on Saturday afternoon, Bills fans - and one would assume, the Bills’ braintrust - will be paying close attention.

Friday during the interview sessions with receivers and tight ends, several players confirmed they have met with the Bills this week including wideouts Zay Flowers of Boston College, Jordan Addison of USC, North Carolina’s Josh Downs and Ohio State’s Jaxon Smith-Njigba, and tight ends Darnell Washington of Georgia and Notre Dame’s Michael Mayer.

There were probably more, so yes, Sean McDermott, Brandon Beane and the scouting staff are paying attention.

All of this is fueling the speculation that Beane should use his first-round pick, No. 27 overall, on an immediate impact, difference-making outside receiver. I’m fully on board with that, and if Beane does it and he hits, the Bills would look pretty good with an outside threesome of a first-round rookie joining Stefon Diggs and Gabe Davis.

Development of Khalil Shakir may be key

As for the slot, the answer may already be in the building in the form of Khalil Shakir, Buffalo’s fifth-round draft pick in 2022.

“We’re confident in the guys that we have,” McDermott said Tuesday. “I really liked some of what Shakir did last season for us and I think he’ll take another step for us this offseason into year two and so that’ll be a big thing for us.”

The learning curve as a rookie was severe for Shakir last season. He played his college ball at Boise State and did not face the best competition college football had to offer. Plus, he joined a Bills offense that had well-established veterans in the receiving corps, so the fact that he got 25% of the offensive snaps was actually an achievement.

However, he probably deserved more, not to mention more of Allen’s attention when he was on the field. Shakir played 275 snaps and was targeted just 20 times, catching 10 for 161 yards and a TD. He then added five catches for 91 yards in the two playoff games.

But consider this nugget from Pro Football Focus. Their analysts determined in film reviews that among all 2022 rookie wide receivers, Shakir was considered open in man coverage the most at 48.7% of the time, slightly ahead of NFL offensive rookie of the year Garrett Wilson of the Jets (46.7%). Imagine what he might have contributed if he had a bigger role.

“As far as the offense itself, I felt pretty comfortable with that early on,” Shakir said after the season ended. “As time went on … them just working me into it slowly to make sure that I fully understood all the adjustments within the offense as the game goes on as well, seeing that before just kind of throwing me in there. Whatever they wanted me to do, I was all in on it.”

Will Cole Beasley return to the Bills?

Beasley was certainly impressed with what he saw of the rookie. He hinted that if the Bills were interested, he’d like to continue his career in Buffalo in 2023 and as part of his role, mentor Shakir.

“He’s got all the ability to be a great slot, and he can play outside, too,” Beasley said of Shakir. “He’s kind of a hybrid. He can do multiple things, go in and out. You love a guy who’s just willing to put their pride aside and get better, and he’s been that guy from day one. That was part of me coming back, them asking that of me to help those guys, and I’ve always been willing to do that.”

Even though Beasley’s arrival actually took a few practice reps and game snaps away from Shakir, he admitted it was big for him in his development.

“The first time I watched Bease practice, I was like, my jaw dropped all the time just watching him how he moved, how he ran his routes,” Shakir said. “And I’d ask him what his plan was when it’s man coverage or when it’s zone and everything he was explaining to me, it was like stuff that I had never thought about before. He definitely taught me a lot and I appreciate him for being willing to teach me about the game and teach me all those little details.”

Beasley returning seems like a longshot, but you never know. Crowder probably won’t be back as a free agent, and there’s a chance the Bills will cut McKenzie to open some salary cap space, though a Beasley salary would probably eat up most, and maybe more, of McKenzie’s $2.2 million savings.

Regardless of who might be back, the slot position just might be Shakir’s to lose once the Bills return to work for the offseason program and eventually training camp at St. John Fisher University this summer.

“Everything,” Shakir said when he was asked what he’s focusing on during the offseason. “Faster, stronger, obviously watch and learn from tape as well, trying to expand my knowledge on defenses as far as getting more of a better feel for the game.

“It’s gonna be a big jump first to second year, so just kind of make sure that I focus in on a lot of those deep key details as well the small details as far as within my route running and cleaning things up with that as well.”

Sal Maiorana can be reached at maiorana@gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter @salmaiorana.To subscribe to Sal's newsletter, Bills Blast, which will come out every Friday during the offseason, please follow this link: https://profile.democratandchronicle.com/newsletters/bills-blast

This article originally appeared on Rochester Democrat and Chronicle: Bills news, notes from NFL Combine: Who Buffalo is eyeing at receiver