Steelers NFL Draft Series: WR Khalil Shakir
Draft Profile by Yinzer Crazy Steelers Contributor Adam Lovelace. Follow him on Twitter @98_lovelace
The NFL Combine often serves as an oasis in the desert of life without football. It isn’t even remotely close to the actual game. It's just athletes running around in workout clothes doing drills that correlate in no way to their on-the-field performance. Nonetheless, it is fun to gawk at 40 times, bench presses and anything else these freaks can do. Therefore, I drink from that oasis, happily.
This NFL combine we saw incredible speed, and guys the size of quarter-ton trucks running 40-yards in 4.71 seconds. Seriously, if you were standing in front of Georgia defensive-tackle Jordan Davis, he would literally erase you. Davis’ effort notwithstanding, the most impressive group to run the 40-yard dash was the wide receivers. The entire group almost ran under 4.5 seconds.
In a group full of freaks, it is hard to stand out, but for me one player did.
Allow me to introduce you to the Steelers next slot receiver: Khalil Shakir.
His hips don’t lie. His official time was 4.43 seconds - which is by no means slow. However, it was not his 40 time that drew my attention to Shakir. When he ran the cursory drills, he moved through them with a next level agility and caught everything thrown to him.
But it’s
just the combine, right? Well, I did some digging and found out more about the receiver. Shakir's speed is not just for show. While he may not run away from guys, he does have on field speed and is incredibly twitchy. He can also do this:
Who is player in the 22 draft class that will be a steal??
— CFBTalkDaily (@CFBTalkDaily) March 8, 2022
My pick Khalil Shakir pic.twitter.com/MjtSE7276i
Possibly more importantly, he finishes his runs with physicality. At Boise State they used him as a Swiss-army knife. He took direct snaps, played running back, was used on jet-sweeps, and returned punts. His film reveals a guy that can also make the tough catches, as he was repeatedly bringing down balls in traffic and with one hand, as seen above.
My player comparison is 49ers all-world threat Deebo Samuel. That comp shows up on tape too. He is not afraid to put his head down, and the scouts are saying the same thing. They dub him as a physical player who, for a guy with average athleticism, leaves his mark on games. He’s also been referred to as a “coach's dream”, and someone who is extremely competitive with a non-stop motor. My favorite description:
“absolute menace with the ball in his hands”.
Khalil Shakir just did a 360 in stride to catch this ball thrown behind him. Then, he's just going to drag a defender. Ok then. pic.twitter.com/j3XrEv1aHK
— Matt Alkire (@mattalkire) March 3, 2022
All of those traits sound like a prototypical Steeler to me. Oh, in case you were wondering about his comp according to NFL.Com: Antwaan Randle El.
The Steelers are notorious for finding under the radar talent at wide receiver and I think Shakir could be that guy. He is far from the most talented or athletic guy in this class, but he certainly sounds like the most versatile and grittiest.
To me, he sounds like the best replacement for the receivers Pittsburgh may be losing in 2022. JuJu is likely gone, and James Washington is almost certainly out the door. The one that could be retained is Ray-Ray McCloud. As tough as it would be to lose both of those receivers, Shakir seems like the best of both in my eyes.
I think he could turn into the Hines Ward-esque kind of player for whoever takes the helm for the Steelers next year. His versatility would also fit nicely into what Matt Canada seems to like to do with jet sweeps. Shakir is far from the flashiest receiver in this draft, and that is why he is the perfect Steelers fit. Oh and by the way, he has 9 ½ inch hands, for those who keep track of that kind of thing.
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