Bills WR depth chart: What Brandin Cooks signing means for Josh Allen's weapons

Bills WR depth chart: What Brandin Cooks signing means for Josh Allen's weapons originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.

The Buffalo Bills' 2025 receiving room has been a revolving door. Though they have the reigning NFL MVP in Josh Allen, there has yet to be a player that has emerged as the wide receiver one.

For years, Allen's best receiver was Stefon Diggs, but since his departure Buffalo has been searching for a main target. Allen has had a variety of options in 2025, including Khalil Shakir and Joshua Palmer, but no receivers have truly emerged as reliable, go-to threats.

That led the Bills to make a signing, as they're bringing in veteran Brandin Cooks out of free agency, per ESPN's Adam Schefter.

Here's how the Bills wide receiver room stacks up for the rest of 2025 following the Cooks signing.

MORE WEEK 13 NFL:

• NFL power rankings for Week 13

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Bills WR depth chart

Position

Player

1

Khalil Shakir

2

Joshua Palmer

3

Tyrell Shavers

4

Curtis Samuel

5

Keon Coleman

6

Gabe Davis

7

Brandin Cooks

8

Mecole Hardman (injured)

1. Khalil Shakir

Shakir is the closest thing Buffalo has to a number one option this season. He currently leads the Bills with 54 receptions and 564 receiving yards through Week 12, while also hauling in three touchdowns.

The fourth-year product out of Boise State had a breakout 2024, becoming Allen's top option with 821 yards and four touchdowns. However, compared to other lead wideouts across the league, Shakir's status has been rather uninspiring despite some solid production.

2. Joshua Palmer

Palmer was brought in to be an "X" receiver for Allen, but has seen his production go down since a season-high nine targets in Week 1 against the Ravens.

On the season, Palmer has 18 catches for 272 yards, though he's seen a bit of an increased  workload lately with Keon Coleman's benching.

3. Tyrell Shavers

Shavers, the undrafted rookie out of San Diego State, had a breakout game in Week 11 against the Buccaneers, catching four passes for 90 yards and the first touchdown of his NFL career.

After the career performance, he could continue to factor into the Bills' offense, although he was held catchless in Week 12.

MORE: Bills' Tyrell Shavers offers incredible insight to Keon Coleman relationship amid benching

4. Curtis Samuel

Samuel joined the Bills in 2024. In his first season with the team, he played in 14 games, recording 31 receptions for 253 receiving yards and one touchdown. He's followed that up in the 2025 season by playing in six games with seven receptions for 81 yards and one touchdown. Samuel's usage also involves some rushing attempts, with five rushes for 14 yards in the 2024 season.

5. Keon Coleman

Coleman was the Bills' top draft pick in the 2024 draft, taken in the second round (33rd overall). In his rookie 2024 season, he played 13 games catching 29 passes for 556 yards and four touchdowns. In the 2025 season, he opened with a strong Week 1 performance, recording eight catches for 112 yards and a touchdown against the Ravens.

However, his 2025 season has been marked by inconsistency and disciplinary issues, including being benched for the first quarter of a Week 5 game and being a healthy scratch for a Week 11 game against the Buccaneers for being late to a team meeting. Because of those issues, his production has fallen off a bit.

6. Gabe Davis

Davis was recently brought back by the Bills after signing with the Jacksonville Jaguars in the 2024 offseason. He was drafted by the Bills in the fourth round (128th overall) of the 2020 NFL Draft, establishing himself as a prominent deep threat receiver, known for his high average yards per reception.

In the regular season, he recorded at least 500 receiving yards and six touchdowns in each of his four years in Buffalo, totaling 166 receptions for 2,770 yards and 27 touchdowns over 65 games (48 starts) during this period. His regular season consistency provided a reliable vertical option for quarterback Josh Allen, with his best statistical season coming in 2022 when he caught 48 passes for 836 yards and seven touchdowns.

Davis is perhaps best remembered for his historic postseason performance in the 2021 AFC Divisional Round game against the Kansas City Chiefs. In that game, he set an NFL playoff record by catching four receiving touchdowns, accumulating 201 yards on eight catches.

7. Brandin Cooks

The Bills signed Cooks in free agency, needing some added receiver help for the stretch run of the 2025 season. The veteran shouldn't be expected to do too much, but he will have plenty of experience.

In 2025 for the Saints, Cooks had 165 yards in 10 games. In 2024, he had 259 yards in 10 games for the Cowboys. Cooks won't factor too heavily into the Bills' offense, but perhaps he can turn back the clock a bit for a few key catches in their playoff push.

8. Mecole Hardman

Hardman was signed by the Bills to the active roster late in the 2025 season, primarily to bolster the team's special teams unit, as Buffalo had struggled with poor average drive start and punt return average. Hardman is a speedy receiver who previously played for the Chiefs, where he caught the game-winning touchdown in Super Bowl LVIII.

He made his 2025 season debut for the Bills in Week 11 and recorded one kickoff return for 61 yards before exiting the game with a calf issue. Though, he was placed on injured reserve and is currently out.

MORE: New Buffalo Bills wide receiver lands on injured reserve after just one game