Buffalo Bills

Projected Cap Space: -$16.5 million

Draft Picks: 7

• 1st (No. 26)
• 2nd (No. 60)
• 3rd (No. 91)
• 4th (No. 126)
• 5th (No. 166)
• 7th (No. 220, NYJ)
• 7th (No. 228, DAL)

Notable Free Agents: 

• C Connor McGovern
• G David Edwards
• DE Joey Bosa
• LB Matt Milano
• DE A.J. Epenesa
• DT Da’Quan Jones
• WR Brandin Cooks
• CB Tre’Davious White
• S Jordan Poyer
• LB Shaq Thompson
• CB Darius Slay
• K Matt Prater
• OT Ryan Van Demark (RFA)
• CB Cameron Lewis
• QB Mitchell Trubisky
• WR Gabriel Davis
• S Darnell Savage
• DT Larry Ogunjobi
• P Mitch Wishnowsky
• FB Reggie Gilliam
• DT Jordan Phillips
• S Damar Hamlin

Top Three Needs

1 – Wide Receiver

Much to GM Brandon Beane‘s chagrin, this is going to be a topic of conversation for the Bills until he does something to change it. The Bills managed okay in the first year after trading WR Stefon Diggs in 2024, spreading the ball around to a variety of players and leaning more on the run game with RB James Cook. Last year, though, defenses caught up to Buffalo’s offense. The Bills didn’t have a pass catcher they trusted to win consistently in big leverage situations.

That meant the Bills had to lean more on QB Josh Allen, who remains a brilliant talent. It’s tough for any one player to shoulder that kind of burden consistently, though. The results of last year bear that out. In a year where multiple AFC contenders regressed, the Bills had a golden opportunity to take advantage. Instead, they backslid too, even if it wasn’t to the same degree. They were 12-5 and lost the AFC East to the Patriots, meaning they had to go on the road in the divisional round against the Broncos. Allen’s mistakes loomed large in a close loss, but he dragged them that far in the first place. 

Just because Allen is capable of greatness while playing the game on hard mode doesn’t mean the Bills should lean on him to bail them out. Buffalo — and every other AFC team with a high-end quarterback — needs to go into this offseason with a mandatory goal of taking pressure off their starter. The easiest way to do that is with a No. 1-caliber wideout who makes life easier on the quarterback. A “throw it to me, I’ll make you right” type of guy. 

Easier said than done, of course.  

2 – Edge Rusher

With the ouster of former HC Sean McDermott, the Bills signed up for significant changes on the defensive side of the ball. That was McDermott’s expertise and his influence was heavy there during his tenure even if he wasn’t always calling the plays. Buffalo tabbed DC Jim Leonhard to replace him, and he runs a scheme that has some major differences from McDermott’s system. 

The biggest difference is up front where the Bills will shift from an even front approach under McDermott to an odd front under Leonhard, mirroring the scheme he ran as a player with the Ravens and Jets. Another way to say that is they’re going from a 4-3 to a 3-4, although given most teams play the majority of their snaps in nickel, that distinction isn’t nearly as important as it used to be. 

No matter what, edge rusher would have been a need for the Bills as they try to accumulate enough firepower to survive the AFC quarterback gauntlet. Bosa and Epenesa are on expiring contracts and may or may not fit what Leonhard is looking for. Veteran DE Gregory Rousseau is a quality starter but hasn’t topped eight sacks in his five years in the league. Guys like Michael Hoecht and Landon Jackson might also be better fits on the interior than the edge for Leonhard. 

Look for multiple additions here as the Bills remake the move. If they go for a big splash, this is also an area they could target, along with receiver. 

3 – Interior Offensive Line

The Bills are set to lose two starters from the front, McGovern and Edwards. It would make a ton of sense for the team to try to re-sign them but Buffalo will have budget constraints to work with this offseason. While both are interior players and easier to replace than tackles, it’s the kind of hole that could sink the offense if not plugged.

Buffalo’s offense under Joe Brady has leaned heavily on being a physical, smash-and-mash group when it comes to the run scheme and the design of the plays called. Presumably it will remain quite similar with him as head coach. That makes it important for the Bills to keep their strength up front to ensure they can maintain the kind of identity they want to have on offense. 

One Big Question

Is Joe Brady the missing ingredient to get over the hump? 

Buffalo’s decision to fire McDermott after yet another disappointing playoff loss made sense on its own. Nine years is plenty of information and it had gotten to a point with McDermott where it was tough to argue a tenth year was going to result in meaningfully different results. Whatever the reason, the current combination wasn’t working. Sometimes it’s just time for a change. 

How the Bills went about shaking things up was curious, though. Beane has been with McDermott virtually every step of the way through the past nine years. His failures as a front office executive weigh equally with McDermott’s failures as a coach when examining why the Bills haven’t broken through. Yet he remained with a promotion to boot and was assigned to pick the next coach. 

Brady was another interesting decision as an internal promotion. He’s been a viable coaching candidate for a few years now and has a great relationship with Allen, so it’s not like there weren’t good reasons for the Bills to hire him. But for a team trying to shake things up, keeping things mostly the same on offense is at least a little interesting. 

Really what all these changes amount to is putting the blame squarely at the feet of McDermott for the Bills’ failure to get past the conference title game with Allen under center. What it means, though, is that if things don’t change, if the Bills still fall short of the Super Bowl in 2026, then plenty more changes could be coming than just the one.