Bills Central

Bills WRs Shakir, Coleman disrespected in ESPN fantasy ranking despite Josh Allen

ESPN fantasy analyst Mike Clay released his latest WR rankings for 2025 and doesn't appear to have much faith in the Buffalo Bills' passing game.
Brian Letscher|
Bills Khalil Shakir looks up at the scoreboard as he walks off the field against the Kansas City Chiefs.
Bills Khalil Shakir looks up at the scoreboard as he walks off the field against the Kansas City Chiefs. | Tina MacIntyre-Yee/Democrat and Chronicle / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

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Fantasy football rankings are based on statistical projections — how many targets and catches, yards and touchdowns a wide receiver, for example, will have in a given game or season.

Based on ESPN fantasy analyst Mike Clay's recent WR rankings it doesn't appear that the Buffalo Bills wide receivers will be anything special in 2025.

In his Top 50 WR's, Clay has Khalil Shakir at No. 36 and the Bills' other projected starter, Keon Coleman, at No. 43.

For perspective, twenty-five teams have a WR on the list before Shakir comes in at No. 36. Ten teams have two wide receivers listed before the Bills have one and, lastly, 14 teams have two players before the Bills finally get their second with Coleman at No. 43.

RELATED: Bills GM Brandon Beane reveals level of concern with WR Keon Coleman

The truth is that the Bills don't really need a "true No. 1 WR" in Joe Brady's "everybody eats" offense. Shakir and Coleman were the Bills' top two WR's last season in yardage and finished at #40 and #60, respectively, in fantasy WR rankings. Yet the Bills averaged 30.9 points a game, good for 2nd best in the entire NFL, and went all the way to the AFC championship game. With this in mind, according to Clay's projections, 2025 should see the Bills WR's flying higher than last season.

Keon Coleman
Dec 29, 2024; Orchard Park, New York, USA; Buffalo Bills wide receiver Keon Coleman (0) makes a catch for a touchdown. | Gregory Fisher-Imagn Images

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Brian Letscher
BRIAN LETSCHER

A Michigan native, Brian graduated from the University of Michigan in another century, where he earned a degree in economics and a Rose Bowl Championship ring while playing football for the Wolverines under Head Coach Gary Moeller. Brian went on to coach Division 1A football for several years before becoming a full-time writer and actor while maintaining an unhealthy interest in sports. He is currently developing a scripted television series, THOSE WHO STAY, based on a series of historical fiction articles he wrote about Bo Schembechler's Michigan football program as they struggle to unite and win the championship - which requires beating #1 Ohio State - during the tumultuous civil rights and anti-war movements of 1969.

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