The Buffalo Bills haven’t completely ignored the wide receiver position in the NFL Draft in recent years, but the approach hasn’t been very urgent.

In each of the last three drafts, Bills president and general manager Brandon Beane has selected one receiver in each: Florida’s Justin Shorter in the fifth round of 2023, Florida State’s Keon Coleman in the second round of 2024, and Maryland’s Kaden Prather in the seventh round of 2025.

Only Coleman remains on the roster, and he’s coming off a rocky sophomore NFL season. The lack of resources spent on the position is clear from the current roster makeup at receiver. Outside of slot receiver Khalil Shakir, the Bills don’t have any reliable options at the receiver position headed into new head coach Joe Brady’s first season at the helm.

NFL.com draft expert Daniel Jeremiah held a pre-NFL Combine media call last week to take questions about this year’s crop of prospects. He thinks the Bills have been searching for a bigger receiver the past few years.

“I think they love what they have in Khalil Shakir, and just trying to find the perfect complement to him on the outside,” Jeremiah said. “And they’ve swung and just haven’t been able to hit on it. Whether or not some of that is a lack of maturity with players or just the ability not matching what the evaluation was. I think that’s open to interpretation there.”

Jeremiah mocked Notre Dame wide receiver Malachi Fields to the Bills in his second mock draft of the year last week. He said in his conference call that Fields, who was one of the stars of the Senior Bowl, will likely be off the board on Day 2 of the draft if the Bills don’t take him in the first round.

So if Beane truly does want a bigger-body receiver and the Bills don’t land one with their No. 26 pick, Jeremiah named five receivers who could be options in the second or third rounds.

He started with Louisville receiver Chris Bell, who would be a great option at pick No. 60.

“Chris Bell, you might get a discount on, from Louisville,” Jeremiah said. “He’s coming off of an ACL injury, but he’s a really good player who’s thick and strong and powerful. He can go get it down the field. He’s physical at the top of routes, sudden after the catch. He does not go down easy.”

Bell would likely be in the first-round conversation if not for the ACL injury late in his senior season. Jeremiah ranked Bell No. 50 on his Top 50 prospects and noted his ability to generate immediate separation. That seems like a perfect fit in Buffalo, where finding receivers to gain their own separation has been a struggle. Bell played in only 11 games last season but finished with 72 catches for 917 yards and six touchdowns.

The other four receivers Jeremiah noted are Round 3 targets where the Bills hold pick No. 91.

“Reggie Virgil from Texas Tech is a good option,” he said. “Josh Cameron, who’s a big, tough, strong kid–little stiff– but he’s got punt return value as well out of Baylor. He’s a good player. I thought he was like Mack Hollins-plus. So it’ll be some familiarity of what that looks like there.”

Hollins played for the Bills in 2024 and led the team in receiving touchdowns. Cameron is a 6-foot-1, 223-pound senior who caught 69 passes for 872 yards and nine touchdowns last season for the Bears. Virgil is 6-foot-2, 180 pounds and finished his college career at Texas Tech after three seasons at Miami (Oh.). Virgil caught 57 passes for 705 yards and six touchdowns last season.

“Ted Hurst from Georgia State is not going to the combine, surprisingly,” Jeremiah said. “He’s got big speed outside and can go get the ball. So kind of those bigger guys, you can get to Elijah Sarratt in that mix as well out of Indiana. Maybe not as fast, but can wall guys off and win.”

Hurst was another Senior Bowl standout. He caught 71 passes for 1,004 yards and six touchdowns as the top threat for the Panthers. Sarratt won a national championship at Indiana and led college football with 15 receiving touchdowns last season.

Many NFL draft analysts have mentioned Texas A&M receiver K.C. Concepcion as a potential target for the Bills. He’s a much smaller receiver who projects more as a slot receiver in the NFL. Sarratt’s teammate at Indiana, Omar Cooper Jr., is another talented receiver who stands 6-foot and weighs 205 pounds. He played in the slot for the Hoosiers but could be a target for the Bills in the first or second round.

However, Jeremiah’s contention is that the Bills have the slot skill set already in their offense with Shakir.

“I think they’ve got to find a bigger body,” Jeremiah said. “When you get in big games and third downs and clutch moments when there’s not a lot of space, can you have a ball winner? I think that’s what they’ve got to find, whether that’s a free agent or whether that’s in the draft.”

Coleman was drafted to be the big-body X receiver but many analysts made the argument that he was more of a big slot than an outside threat. Beane said earlier this month that Coleman could play inside more in 2026.

There are some fun free agent ideas floating out there, like Tampa Bay Buccaneers receiver Mike Evans or Green Bay Packers receiver Romeo Doubs.

Beane and Brady are set to speak with the media from the combine on Tuesday afternoon.