NFL LIVE: 2 Buffalo Bills players’ who need to step up in Week 1″ As Sean McDermott set to try new strategy…
The NFL season has begun, and with it comes the Buffalo Bills’ inaugural regular season match. While some of them may be able to wait in the wings for a little while, others will have significant roles in this squad right away at spots where the Bills are thin. Damar Hamlin, who will take over Micah Hyde’s free safety job, is also making his debut. The Arizona Cardinals appear to be the best team in the NFC this season, so the Bills will face some difficult opponents early on.
It makes sense that the Bills starters were given more time to practice in the preseason. They ought to be prepared for their season’s opening match at this point. A few pivotal games will determine which Bills team plays on Sunday. Let’s examine a few guys who must do better this week.
Cornerback Rasul Douglas vs Marvin Harrison Jr
The prized rookie from the 2024 class, the Arizona Cardinals hope Marvin Harrison Jr will be one of the top receivers in the league. Rasul Douglas will have a tall task ahead of him on Sunday, as the big 6’3 receiver plans to have a big role in the offensive plans starting this week.
Now in 2024, Douglas is coming back fully healthy with a deeper cornerback room than the Bills finished last year with. Kaiir Elam is starting to look like he was worthy of a first-round pick, and will likely be the primary backup to Douglas. He’ll have a hard time against Marvin Harrison Jr, but if he plays anything like his 2023 campaign, we should see a great battle here between these two.
Wide receiver Khalil Shakir
Shakir is stepping into a larger role in 2024 than we’ve previously seen from the third-year receiver. Josh Allen is counting on him and Dalton Kincaid to be the top two targets this year, and it starts against the Cardinals this week. This will be a good game for these young players such as Shakir to get acclimated into their roles, as the Cardinals’ secondary is lacking talent.
Shakir has the greatest familiarity with Josh Allen of any wide receiver returning to this squad from 2023, which will be very helpful this season. Shakir showed himself to be a trustworthy target in his limited playing time last season, and as the Bills come closer to the start of another regular season, that trend should continue.
Buffalo no longer has a major threat, so the inexperienced wide outs will get a lot of early and frequent action. It’s time for Khalil Shakir to stand up in 2024; the days of him battling for playing time are over.
