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Seahawks WR Rashid Shaheed
The Buffalo Bills will likely take the field in 2026 with a very different-looking wide receiving corps, with several veterans expected to depart in free agency and some new additions likely coming in.
One longtime NFL analyst believes the Bills could infuse the pass-catching group with speed and talent by targeting a Super Bowl champion that they just missed at this year’s trade deadline.
Bills Get Another Shot at Rashid Shaheed
Bills general manager Brandon Beane — before his promotion to president of football operations — said during the last season that the team struggled to find willing partners at the trade deadline. The Bills were aiming to improve several areas, especially the struggling wide receiving corps.
One of the top potential targets at the deadline was New Orleans Saints speedster Rashid Shaheed, the receiver and kick returner who ended up being traded to the Seattle Seahawks and winning a Super Bowl. SI.com’s Albert Breer believes there won’t be many big targets in free agency after the Dallas Cowboys likely use the franchise tag on George Pickens, but he suggested the Bills could make another run at Shaheed.
“At this point, I presume the Cowboys will tag George Pickens. That leaves two players who would top my list, if I were a contending team like the Bills looking for receiver help in free agency,” Breer wrote.
Breer put Shaheed at the top of the list, predicting he would be a great fit with Allen.
“One would be 27-year-old Seahawks receiver Rashid Shaheed, who may be a match made in heaven for Josh Allen—a deep threat who could weaponize Allen’s ability to push the ball downfield. Shaheed’s never had a season with 60 catches or 750 yards, but the potential tied to his game-breaking ability is tantalizing. And until he joined the Seahawks midseason this year, he never had much stability at quarterback.”
Breer suggested the other would be Indianapolis Colts receiver Alec Pierce, who topped 1,000 yards this season despite a revolving door of quarterbacks that ended with 40-something Philip Rivers coming out of retirement.
Bills Could Look to NFL Draft for New Talent
Other analysts have predicted the Bills will prioritize offense in the upcoming NFL Draft, using their top pick to add more talent for Allen.
Matt Renner of CBS Sports predicted the Bills would snag Texas A&M wide receiver KC Concepcion with the No. 26 overall pick, their first time using a first-round pick on a wide receiver in more than a decade.
Renner suggested that Concepcion would fill a big need in Buffalo, providing a deep threat that the offense has mostly lacked since the departure of Stefon Diggs in 2024. Though Concepcion has had a problem with drops in college, Renner suggested that the upside is worth it for the Bills.
“Concepcion is the separator Buffalo lacks,” Renner wrote. “We saw how much an older Brandin Cooks opened up the offense in his limited stint, and Concepcion would bring even more juice. You may have to live with some drops, though, after he posted a drop rate north of 10% last year.”
Nathan Dougherty is a sports reporter covering the NFL for Heavy.com, with a focus on the Buffalo Bills, Detroit Lions and Miami Dolphins. Previously he wrote for the Rochester Business Journal and served as the assistant editor of athletic trade magazines Coaching Management, Athletic Management and Training & Conditioning. He is based out of Rochester, New York, and loves everything football. More about Nathan Dougherty
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