Getty DJ Chark while playing with Jacksonville in 2020.
The Buffalo Bills face a delicate challenge for their offense heading into the 2024 season, needing to add talent at wide receiver but lacking the cap space to pull off any big moves.
While many insiders expect the Bills to invest a high draft pick in a wide receiver — especially in a draft considered especially deep at the position — Bleacher Report’s Joe Tansey believes they can also find some help in the second tier of free agents. Tansey pointed to veteran D.J. Chark, who is headed to free agency following the conclusion of his one-year, $5 million contract with the Carolina Panthers.
Bills Bring More Help for Stefon Diggs
As Tansey noted, the Bills will need to make some moves to help No. 1 receiver Stefon Diggs for the coming season. The Bills are expected to lose No. 2 receiver Gabe Davis in free agency, and veteran Trent Sherfield is also coming to the end of the one-year contract he signed last offseason.
That leaves third-year receiver Khalil Shakir as the best receiver on the roster outside of Diggs.
“Shakir improved in 2023, but he is best suited right now for the slot and No. 3 roles on the depth chart, and not as Diggs’ primary backup,” Tansey wrote. “Buffalo should look to the second tier of wide receiver free agents to add to Diggs, Shakir, Dalton Kincaid and Dawson Knox in the passing attack.”
Tansey noted there could be a few options, naming Chark along with Jauan Jennings, Josh Reynolds and K.J. Osbourne. Chark is among the most accomplished of the options, with one Pro Bowl nod during his six NFL seasons. Chark is coming off a season where he made 35 receptions for 525 yards and five touchdowns.
The #Panthers recently hosted WR D.J. Chark and WR Adam Thielen. They reportedly want to sign both of them. #KeepPounding
As Schuyler Callihan of SI.com’s All Panthers noted, Chark’s stats in 2023 didn’t tell the whole story of his impact. He gradually built a rapport with quarterback Bryce Young over the course of the season, culminating on Christmas Eve when Chark had eight catches for 98 yards with two touchdowns.
“It’s something new. My role in the past has been different,” Chark told AllPanthers.com in December. “But I’m going to roll with the punches and I’m going to do what I’m supposed to do no matter what. Keep pushing, keep fighting, and try to make the plays when I get the opportunity and as long as I continue to do that, I’ll sleep well at night.”
Bills Expected to Add Youth at Wide Receiver
The Bills could also use their first-round draft pick to add a young wide receiver. Chris Trapasso of CBS Sports predicted the Bills would use their No. 28 overall pick on Oregon receiver Troy Franklin, a big target who could add another dimension to the offense.
“Franklin is a tall speedster whose numbers increased in each of his three seasons at Oregon,” Trapasso wrote. “There’s some after-the-catch juice to his game too. Precisely what the Bills need offensively.”
While many seem to agree that the Bills will take another receiver in the first round, there are varying ideas on which player they might target. Bleacher Report’s Ryan Fowler suggested they could take Florida State receiver Keon Coleman, while Vinnie Iyer of The Sporting News saw LSU receiver Brian Thomas Jr. as the better target.
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