Bills projected to part ways with 2023 draft pick

The Buffalo Bills are undergoing a robust rebuild at wide receiver.

As with any massive construction project, there will be some experimentation that could see quick changes in short order. The Bills are in line to make a rather quick about-face this preseason with a once-promising young receiver. At least, that is what Jay Skurski of the Buffalo News predicted.

Skurski is projecting that second-year wideout Justin Shorter will not make the Bills’ 53-man roster thanks to all of the veteran receivers Buffalo has added this offseason.

He went on to note that Shorter showed some flash in the 2023 preseason but suffered a hamstring injury that effectively ended his season.

Of course, with nothing set in stone, Shorter has a chance to prove the doubters wrong, and that’s what the preseason is all about.

Buffalo Bills set for intense free-for-all wide receiver training camp battle

Per ESPN, Shorter sits behind up to six wide receivers.

With Stefon Diggs and Gabe Davis gone, the Bills have elected to fill in the roster with mostly free agents with a dash of rookies. Khalil Shakir and Curtis Samuel sit atop the depth chart as veterans with rookie Keon Coleman sliding into the remaining starting role.

Behind them, Chase Claypool, Marquez Valdes-Scantling and Mack Hollins line the premier backup roles. Shorter, KJ Hamler, and Andy Isabella line the next row of receivers. As such, despite a massively reworked group of receivers, the Bills have some potentially intense position battles coming up in 2024.

Claypool has reportedly impressed at OTAs, and Valdes-Scantling is a hero in Kansas City Chiefs history as the player who caught the game-winning pass in the AFC Championship Game against the Baltimore Ravens this past winter. Meanwhile, Hamler has proven to be a preseason phenom at times in his career, and Isabella is a known name going into training camp.

Clearly, Shorter has a lot of work on his plate. However, he does have a reason for hope with Claypool and Valdes-Scantling. Both receivers put up lacking production from a full-season standpoint in 2023, explaining why they landed with the Bills in the first place.

Claypool earned under 100 yards last season. Valdes-Scantling totaled just 315. If either player takes it easy on even one play and Shorter hits a banger, that is all it could take to see a switch on the depth chart.

Will Shorter prove the doubters wrong this summer?