"Takeaway Tre" is back in town, and the lovable fan favorite is already showing why he was missed.
The Buffalo Bills re-signed cornerback Tre'Davious White after one year apart, and the 2017 first-round pick tackled a bevy of topics while formally addressing reporters at OTAs this week.
While answering a question about which Bills' players have appeared to noticeably improve, White may have unintentionally given a nickname to wide receiver Khalil Shakir.
“One guy that specifically stuck out to me, man, for sure was Khalil, like just his after catch, the way he attacked the ball and just not dropping anything, just hands of Velcro, man," said White.
"Velcro Khalil" has a decent ring to it. Simply referring to the Bills' pass-catcher as "Velcro" also sounds like a reasonable option. Regardless of its marketability, the nickname would certainly be warranted, and there's data to support it.
Shakir has been as reliable as they come since emerging as a significant contributor midway through the 2023 campaign. Considering he owns a 75.8 career catch percentage, it's no wonder why quarterback Josh Allen targeted Shakir a team-high 100 times in 2024.
In Week 4, he set an NFL record that stretched back to a December 2023 win over the Los Angeles Chargers. Shakir secured 28 consecutive targeted passes, subsequently extending the record to 30 in a row before ending.
In what was a remarkable stretch, Shakir caught 42 of 45 targets for 471 yards over his first eight appearances in 2024.
Shakir's emergence into the team's WR1 did not come as a surprise to White.
"You could just tell just from when he got drafted, just the whole demeanor and the whole way he approached each and every day," said White. "Don't say nothing at all, but just go to work and just get open. So for sure, just watching on film, Khalil is a guy that definitely, he stuck out for sure.”
While "sticky-hands Shakir" and "Velcro," both fit, it may be best to call him what he's literally become for the Bills' offense - "Mr. Reliable."
