Eye-Catching Rookie Trio Highlights Bills 27-24 Win
A ninth-straight preseason win is now under the belts of the Buffalo Bills, thanks in no small part to three impressive rookies.
Wide receivers Khalil Shakir, Isaiah Hodgins and running back Raheem Blackshear all caught the eye in Saturday's 27-24 last-gasp win against the Indianapolis Colts.
Fifth-round pick Shakir led the team in receiving yards with 92, with a long of 25 yards catching all five of his targets - which included a couple of nice toe-tap receptions along the sidelines.
"Matt (Barkley) and I both like to look his (Shakir) way a lot," quarterback Case Keenum said. "He's got a bright future."
Meanwhile, sixth-rounder Hodgins caught nine of 11 targets for 77 yards, including a sideline reach for 27 yards to set up the first offensive touchdown.
And while it would be easy to let a strong debut like this get to your head, Hodgins remains grounded, saying after the game, "I don't try to look at the camp battles and who's making the team and who's not, I just take it day-by-day and go out there and play my best."
Perhaps the star of the show was, Blackshear, a red-zone threat with six carries for 11 yards, recording the team's only two offensive touchdowns, and a further 60 yards receiving with a team-long of 32 yards.
With the Bills relatively deep at running back, Blackshear, who head coach Sean McDermott said "was different when he came on the field," went a long way to helping his cause. He still has a ways to go if he's to beat out the likes of Zack Moss to a depth spot, and the backfield is especially crowded with rookie James Cook here. And there's another issue: Unfortunately, Blackshear had to be helped off the field and subsequently left the game after his second touchdown. He was later listed as questionable with an ankle injury.
Overall, the idea that the Buffalo Bills' roster, already deep in talent, might now come at opponents in another wave? Impressive.
