The Buffalo Bills' 2023 NFL draft brought six new players to the squad along with a handful of undrafted rookies. Buffalo’s first two picks, Utah tight end Dalton Kincaid and Florida guard O’Cyrus Torrence, should make an immediate impact on the team. But which Bills' rookie sleeper will step up and put his imprint on the 2023 season? The player with the best chance to do so is the team’s fifth-round pick out of Florida, wide receiver Justin Shorter.

WR Justin Shorter is the Bills' rookie sleeper to watch in 2023

Heading into the Bills draft this offseason, general manager Brandon Beane needed to add more weapons for Josh Allen.

Last season, Stefon Diggs was excellent as always, putting up 108 catches for 1,429 yards and a career-high 11 touchdowns. However, after that, the Bills' receiving corps didn’t live up to its potential.

Gabriel Davis was the biggest disappointment. After finishing the 2021 season with an incredible eight-catch, 201-yard, four-touchdown performance against the Kansas City Chiefs, expectations for 2022 were sky-high.

And while the third-year wideout was OK last season with 48 catches for 836 yards and seven touchdowns, he also had some big drops in key spots and didn’t live up to the promise of his final 2021 performance.

Also, neither Isaiah McKenzie nor rookie Khalil Shakir was able to excel in the slot. The position was so futile last season that the team had to re-sign the semi-retired Cole Beasley for the stretch run.

So, during the Bills draft, the team would have loved to pick an impact WR in the first round. There simply wasn’t a clear star prospect, though, and all the top wideouts — Jaxon Smith-Njigba, Quentin Johnston, Zay Flowers, and Jordan Addison — came off the board in consecutive picks from 20 to 23.

Beane made a shrewd move trading up to pick Kincaid, the most dynamic TE in the draft, but the WR position is still a question mark after the Bills draft.

Buffalo eventually did take a wideout in Round 5, selecting Florida Gators pass-catcher Justin Shorter. And now he’s the Bills' rookie sleeper with the best chance to make a serious impact on the club next season.

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Shorter is 6-foot-4, 229 pounds, making him one of the bigger prospects in a draft full of small, quick WRs. He has the long speed to work deep and the excellent footwork and big hands needed to work the intermediate routes. Shorter also took snaps on the outside and in the slot, making him a versatile receiver who will fit well with Diggs, Davis, and Shakir.

In college, Shorter dealt with injuries and inconsistency at times. And at the NFL draft combine, he ran a relatively unimpressive 4.55-second 40-yard dash. That’s what pushed him down the board on NFL draft weekend.

On the Bills’ roster in 2023, though, Shorter will be able to do what he does best with the defense focusing on Diggs and Kincaid. He will also play with a great QB for the first time after working with the talented but raw Anthony Richardson last season.

This is a high-ceiling, low-floor pick for the Bills. Justin Shorter has the well-rounded skill set to become a top wideout in the league. He does have his limitations, too, so how offensive coordinator Ken Dorsey uses him as a rookie will determine his success.

At the beginning of the Bills rookie’s career, Shorter should be a deep threat and a big red zone target for Allen. This could make the youngster from Florida a serious touchdown threat early in his career. He’ll likely start the season as WR4 on the Bills’ depth chart, but if he can prove that he has better hands than Davis, it wouldn’t be a shock if he quickly worked his way up to the WR2 spot.

The 2023 Bills roster is stacked, especially on the offensive side of the ball, but a wide receiver like Shorter will have a chance to make an impact on the team right away. If Shorter isn’t the Bills' rookie sleeper to make an impact, there are two undrafted free agents to keep an eye on.

After the draft, Buffalo signed 6-foot-2 WR Jalen Wayne from South Alabama and 6-foot-4 wideout Tyrell Shavers from San Diego. These two both fit the same profile as Shorter does and if the former Gator fails to live up to his expectations, one of these two could fill the role.

Still, if the Bills Mafia are betting on one young wideout to become the Bills' rookie sleeper in 2023, the best bet is fifth-round draft pick Justin Shorter.