Khalil Shakir NFL Draft Report: Scouting Report #2
Wide Receiver, Boise State, #2
Measurements:
6’0’’ / 190lbs
40 Time: 4.47 (estimate)
Khalil Shakir NFL Draft Player Profile:
Khalil Shakir comes from a military family, which consisted of moving around a lot. Shakir’s father was a marine, which resulted in him and his family living in Japan for 5 to 6 years, according to an interview with PFF. He lived in several other places including his birth state of Virginia, Hawaii, and California. Before finding his passion for football, his first love was soccer. This was developed while he was living in Japan. He played soccer until his sophomore year in high school, when he realized football was the sport which held the best possibility to play at the next level. He did not develop his love for football until middle school when his family settled in California. The Golden State is where he lived until college.
Boise State WR Khalil Shakir
Khalil Shakir attended Vista Murrieta High School in Murrieta, California, where according to 247 sports he was a 4 star recruit. Shakir was the 22nd best athlete (primarily playing RB, WR, and DB) in the country, 360th nationally ranked recruit, and the 44th best recruit in the state of California for the class of 2018. He received 13 offers, including 7 coming from power five schools like UCLA, Arizona State and Arizona.
Surprisingly, Shakir decided to decline all his offers to Power 5 schools, instead heading to Boise State. He did this so he would likely play early in his career. After his freshman year, where he received some playing time, he was able to produce three productive seasons for the Broncos. His senior season has been his best. He currently has 77 receptions, 1117 yards and 7 TDS, while averaging 14.5 yards per reception. Each of his seasons at Boise showed an improvement in production. Shakir was finally able to achieve the 1000 yard receiving mark during the 2021 season.
Khalil Shakir’s Strengths:
Polished Route Runner
Shakir possesses polished route running ability, despite not being the fastest player. His route running includes several head fakes, jab steps, and body language to confuse and shake defenders in order to get open for his quarterback. He also is very polished in his change of direction, which makes his cuts for his routes extremely crisp. However, he must continuously keep improving on his route running to make up for his lack of elite speed to gain separation.
Body Control & Strong Hands
Khalil has proven, especially this season, to have elite body control and strong hands. He has made many acrobatic catches throughout his four seasons in Boise. He consistently can make one handed grabs, proving himself to be one of the best natural pass catchers in the 2022 NFL Draft. Shakir rarely catches footballs with his body, opting instead to use his hands. Shakir has the ability to shield defenders from contested catches, using his elite body control. His body control allows him to make up for his lack of elite size, that receivers like DK Metcalf have. The combination of elite body control and strong natural hands has proven to be a headache for defensive coordinators across the Mountain West.
Versatility/RAC
Boise State WR Khalil Shakir
Shakir is one of the most versatile players in the country. This is the quality that makes him so underrated within the immensely talented 2022 wide receiver NFL Draft class. The Broncos played him everywhere on the offensive side of the ball, which will be very appealing to NFL front offices. Boise lined him up in the slot, out wide, at half back, at quarterback in the wildcat.
Shakir also returned punts and kickoffs. Wherever Boise placed him on the field he was able to make an impact. This was especially true after he gets the ball. After the catch is where he uses his quickness to gain yards. He is one of the most efficient receivers in the country in that statistical category. His versatility is attributed to his ability to make defenders miss. I saw him continuously make defenders look silly when trying to tackle him. Shakir has a knack of refusing to go down when he has the ball.
Khalil Shakir’s Weaknesses
Lacks Elite Speed
Despite having solid quickness, Shakir lacks the elite speed in comparison to other coveted wide receivers in the 2022 draft class. The lack of elite speed in the NFL may result in struggling to gain the same type of separation he was able to achieve in college. He will not always be able to rely on his body control and hands to make plays in the NFL. However, if he continuously works on improving his route running, then he should have enough speed to gain the proper separation to make plays.
Lower Level of Competition
When evaluating any player outside of the power five, the first question mark about the prospect is their lack of competition while in college. Scouts think they performed well against guys who are not NFL draft prospects. This is similar to the doubt against wide receiver prospect from South Alabama, Jalen Tolbert. Tolbert also possesses elite route running and body control, according to our Jalen Tolbert Scouting Report. When it comes to Shakir, will he be able to gain the same separation or provide a similar impact of versatility against elite level defensive backs in the NFL? Or will he struggle against players who are faster, bigger, and more polished?
Khalil Shakir NFL Draft Stock:
Shakir is one of the most underrated players in the entire 2022 NFL Draft Class. He is often overshadowed by other Power 5 wide receivers within the class. I have Shakir as a projected late day two, early day three pick. I personally believe he has day two value, with his ability to be a versatile Swiss Army Knife for any offensive coordinator. His combine and pro day performances, specifically a good 40 time, will improve his draft stock into a day two pick in this year’s upcoming NFL Draft. He has the ability to line up in any offensive skill position similar to how Cordarrelle Patterson is utilized currently in Atlanta.
Khalil Shakir Final Thoughts:
Khalil Shakir, while at Boise State, was able to show why he is one of the most effective players in the country. Shakir’s talent justifies his rating out of high school as a 4 star recruit. His route running and RAC ability makes him a valuable slot receiver on any team. The slot is where he primarily lined up in college (71 % of offensive snaps) according to Jeff Hansen’s 247sports article. His elite versatility across all offensive skill positions will be highly sought after. Teams are continuously looking for those “Swiss Army Knife” type players. In fact, he is nicknamed “Swiss.”
Shakir will be able to succeed in the NFL if he continuously improves on his route running. This will make up for his average speed as an NFL wide receiver. He may also have to put on 10-15 pounds, depending on how an organization utilizes his versatility. If they choose to line him up more at running back than slot/wide receiver, he will need that extra weight.
Khalil Shakir’s NFL Comparison: His versatility warrants the comparison to RB/WR Cordarrelle Patterson of the Atlanta Falcons. Shakir possesses better hands than Patterson, but does not have the same effectiveness as a returner as Patterson due to his lack of elite speed.
Khalil Shakir NFL Draft Profile by Waide Brummer
