Jamison Crowder broke his ankle last week, freeing up a potential full-time opportunity for Isaiah McKenzie as Buffalo's slot receiver. But McKenzie suffered a concussion in that game, so he's iffy for Week 5.
It's not certain he'll be available; if he's not, the following information can be applied to rookie Khalil Shakir. Whoever gets that main role looks like a very nice option.
In the first four games, Crowder and McKenzie shared slot duties. When both guys got hurt last week, Shakir stepped in. Here's those players numbers in the first four games.
| BILLS SLOT WIDE RECEIVERS, WEEKS 1-4 | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Player | Opp | Tgt | No | Yds | TD |
| Crowder | LAR | 4 | 3 | 28 | 0 |
| McKenzie | LAR | 3 | 2 | 19 | 1 |
| TOTAL | LAR | 7 | 5 | 47 | 1 |
| McKenzie | Ten. | 3 | 2 | 37 | 0 |
| Crowder | Ten. | 2 | 1 | 16 | 0 |
| TOTAL | Ten. | 5 | 3 | 53 | 0 |
| McKenzie | Mia. | 9 | 7 | 76 | 1 |
| Crowder | Mia. | 3 | 1 | 9 | 0 |
| TOTAL | Mia. | 12 | 8 | 85 | 1 |
| McKenzie | Balt. | 6 | 4 | 21 | 1 |
| Crowder | Balt. | 4 | 1 | 7 | 0 |
| Shakir | Balt. | 2 | 2 | 23 | 0 |
| TOTAL | Balt. | 12 | 7 | 51 | 0 |
If McKenzie plays, he and Shakir could potentially share that job. That's a risk. But I'm game to use McKenzie if he plays, and would be even more interested in Shakir if McKenzie is out. That job should be a nice one to use in lineups going forward.
--Andy Richardson