We kick off the 2024 vintage of our longest-running offseason series with a look at a speedy wideout
The Buffalo Bills are set to feature a new-look wide receiving corps this season. As such, the team has a whopping 13 receivers on their current roster, which contains 91 players thanks to an exemption for rostering an International Player Pathway (IPP) participant.
In an offseason where the Bills traded Stefon Diggs, allowed Gabe Davis and Deonte Harty to sign elsewhere, and retained just one receiver who caught a pass from quarterback Josh Allen in 2023, it’s safe to say that a rather large microscope will focus on the receiver group. Offensive coordinator Joe Brady will be tasked with finding a group of players who can replace Buffalo’s top targets from last year as a whole rather than as individuals.
And with that, we kick off our “91 players in 91 days” series. We’ll eventually examine every player on Buffalo’s roster, so the title of the series is likely a misnomer, as the team will add, subtract, and potentially even re-add players as we come closer to the regular season. Regardless, our first installment of the series focuses on a young veteran wideout looking for a chance after flaming out in his first two NFL stops.
Name: K. J. Hamler
Number: 19
Position: WR
Height/Weight: 5’9” 178 pounds
Age: 24 (25 on 7/8/2024)
Experience/Draft: 4; selected in the second round (No. 46 overall) of the 2020 NFL Draft by the Denver Broncos
College: Penn State
Acquired: Signed reserve/futures contract with Buffalo on 1/20/2024
Financial situation (per Spotrac): Hamler’s one-year deal is worth a total of $1.055 million, none of which is guaranteed should the Bills decide to release him.
2023 Recap: Hamler was waived by the Broncos with an injury designation on July 31 after announcing that he was diagnosed with pericarditis, which is inflammation of the membrane surrounding the heart. He signed with the Indianapolis Colts’ practice squad at the end of September, where he remained for the duration of the year without appearing in a game. The Colts didn’t offer him a contract at the end of the season.
Positional outlook: Hamler finds himself in a crowded receiver room, but one that is fairly wide open in terms of which player will nail down what role. Keon Coleman, Khalil Shakir, Mack Hollins, Marquez Valdes-Scantling, Andy Isabella, Tyrell Shavers, Bryan Thompson, Chase Claypool, Curtis Samuel, Xavier Johnson, Lawrence Keys, and Justin Shorter are the other dozen wideouts looking to break camp with the team.
2024 Offseason: Hamler’s name has come up unprompted multiple times in press conferences, so it’s possible that there is some sort of plan to utilize him that fans are unaware is taking shape. It’s possible that it’s also partially coincidence, too. Hamler attended OTAs.
2024 Season outlook: While Buffalo’s receiver depth chart remains fairly open, there are still a few players one could consider “safe” based either on past production, contract, or draft status. Coleman, Shakir, and Samuel are likely to sit atop the depth chart, with Valdes-Scantling a fairly safe bet to slot in as WR4 at worst. Hollins is a good bet to be a fifth wideout in the Jake Kumerow mold—someone whose value is more as a special teams player than as a pass catcher.
That leaves a player like Hamler fighting with high-floor, low-ceiling veterans (Andy Isabella, Chase Claypool) and intriguing young players (literally everyone else). I don’t think Hamler has any better or worse shot at the roster than most of those players, but I wouldn’t run to place a bet on him making the final roster. He’s likely a priority practice squad signing, but a strong preseason could change that trajectory given Hamler’s speed.
With the Bills in need of a field-stretcher, Hamler could force his way onto the roster that way; however, with the Valdes-Scantling signing, it’s more likely that the former Kansas City Chiefs and Green Bay Packers wideout fills that role. Hamler may be fighting for Andy Isabella’s practice-squad spot more so than he is a spot on the 53-man roster this season.