Joe Brady's Update on Khalil Shakir's 2026 Usage Should Excite Bills' Fans

Less bubble screens? You promise, Joe Brady?

The Buffalo Bills' new leading man tackled various topics while chatting with media members at the NFL Scouting Combine on Tuesday. While he is no longer the offensive coordinator of the Bills, Brady's elevation to head coach does not mean he will be any less involved with Buffalo's offense.

One of the Bills' biggest pieces offensively is Khalil Shakir. Buffalo's leading receiver in each of the last two seasons, Shakir has become one of Josh Allen's most trusted targets.

But there was a lot of anger around his role in the offense in 2025. Many believed he was being deployed far too often on bubble screens. To that point, Brady alluded to changes coming for the fifth-year wideout.

Joe Brady wants the ball in Khalil Shakir's hands more

and

wait for it

"it doesn't necessarily always have to be in a short range if you know what I mean." pic.twitter.com/0fz2UnJQL3
— Matthew Bové (@Matt_Bove) February 24, 2026

"When the ball's in his hands, good things is happening," said Brady, who's worked with Shakir throughout his entire Bills' tenure. "That doesn't necessarily always have to be in a short range."

Shakir's advanced stats show just how infuriating it was to see his deployment in 2025. The Boise State product's average depth of target was 3.7 yards, by far the lowest mark of his career. That mark was also the third-lowest for any WRs in the NFL last season.

Despite that, he led all NFL players in yards gained on screens and still averaged 7.5 yards after catch for the year.

Buffalo Bills' wide receiver Khalil Shakir. | Melina Myers-Imagn Images

Brady added that he believes Shakir can play both inside and outside, not solely in the slot. And numbers back that up; Shakir's career passer rating when targeted is 111.6, and he's only posted six drops throughout his four years in the NFL.

"There's really not a lot of things Khalil can't do," said Brady. "As we watch cutups, as we go through things and put it all together, there's definitely ways to get the ball in his hands in different ways."

Bills Mafia, better days seem to be ahead for Shakir's usage. Let's just hope Brady is a man of his word and gets him more targets down the field.

New Buffalo Bills' head coach Joe Brady. | Tina MacIntyre-Yee/Democrat and Chronicle / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images