Buffalo Bills Off-Season Primer

2023 Record- (11-6)

In 2023, the Bills had an up and down season. Midway through the year, Buffalo fired their offensive coordinator Ken Dorsey and sat on the outside of the playoff race with a 6-6 record going into their bye week. After Dorsey’s departure, the team went on a late season run, winning their final five games on their way to claiming the AFC East for the 4th consecutive year. 

Quarterback Josh Allen, in the minds of many, should have been named the league’s MVP. He single handedly put the team on his back down the stretch and was responsible for a league leading 44 touchdowns. Allen threw for 4,306 yards and 29 scores while running for 524 yards and 15 touchdowns. Allen did have some interception problems early on in the season and threw a career high 18 picks in 2023. Wide Receiver Stephon Diggs was once again Allen’s main target, hauling in 107 passes for 1,183 yards and 8 touchdowns.

The Bills' defense was stout for the most part, finishing 9th in total defense. However, their run defense let them down later in the year and eventually cost them the AFC Divisional matchup against the Kansas City Chiefs. Injuries plagued the team all year, eventually wearing on the overall defensive unit. Buffalo was without three key starters for a large chunk of the season. Linebacker Matt Milano, cornerback Tre’Davious White, and defensive tackle DaQuan Jones missed 12, 13, and 10 games respectively. Buffalo got to see youngsters Dorian Williams and Taron Johnson fill in admirably, but they still struggled to become a cohesive unit down the stretch. 

Draft Picks

• Round 1 - (28)
• Round 2- (60)
• Round 4- (128)
• Round 5- (158)
• Round 5- (161)
• Round 6- (197)
• Round 6- (201)
• Round 6- (205)
• Round 7- (245)

Free Agents

Projected Cap Space - Negative $50.6MM. The Bills will need to try and restructure a bunch of contracts including Josh Allen and Stephon Diggs.

• QB- Kyle Allen
• RB- Ty Johnson
• RB- Latavius Murray
• RB- Damien Harris
• WR- Gabriel Davis
• WR- Trent Sherfield
• TE- Quintin Morris
• OL- David Edwards
• DE- Leonard Floyd
• DE- A.J. Epenesa
• DE- Shaq Lawson
• DT- DaQuan Jones
• DT- Jordan Phillips
• DT- Tim Settle
• DT- Poona Ford
• DT- Linval Joseph
• LB- Tyrel Dodson
• LB- Tyler Matakevich
• LB- A.J. Klein
• CB- Dane Jackson
• DB- Cam Lewis
• S- Micah Hyde
• S- Taylor Rapp

The Buffalo Bills are going to have to find a way to free up around $80MM to $90MM to be able to try and keep some of their important defensive pieces, mainly defensive tackle DaQuan Jones. Jones was a force in the run defense and the team saw a big dropoff when he was out of the lineup with his injury. Other important pieces on defense that need to be re-signed are cornerback Dane Jackson, defensive ends Leonard Floyd and A.J. Epenesa, and safety Micah Hyde. 

On offense, the Bills are set to lose wide receiver Gabriel Davis who has had moments of greatness but his overall performance has been too spotty to be considered a solid #2 receiver. The Bills have their future running back in James Cook, but will be losing a bunch of depth behind him. 

It will be interesting to see how the Bills' front office juggles their cap space and how they go about retaining some of their key pieces. Buffalo most likely will not be big players on the free agent market and will need to draft well to keep this train rolling.

Biggest Needs 

• WR
• DT
• OT
• Edge Rush
• S
• C
• LB
• RB- Depth

Josh Allen cannot be counted on to produce at the rate that he did in 2023 and will need some help at the wide receiver position. Buffalo needs a more dependable second wideout to match with Stephon Diggs. Gabriel Davis was more of a #3 playing in a #2 role throughout his tenure with Buffalo. At pick #28, a receiver such as Brian Thomas, Jr. of LSU could still be on the board and could be a much needed weapon for Allen. Overall, the Bills do not have much depth at the position once they get past Stephon Diggs and young wideout Khalil Shakir. 

Buffalo also have some question marks at the tackle position and are hoping that their patience with right tackle Spencer Brown pays off. Even if Brown proves to be a quality starting right tackle the Bills lack depth behind him (and Dion Dawkins on the other side of the line) and will need to add some good young pieces to their front. 

On defense, the Bills will likely lose some important pieces on the defensive line this year, and their top defensive tackle, Ed Oliver, is a free agent next offseason. With the specter of losing safety Micah Hyde looming over their heads and their other starter Jordan Poyer’s age (33), the Bills will be looking to add some young bodies to the back end of the secondary. 

Buffalo definitely has their work cut out for them with managing the salary cap situation and their potential free agent losses. Draft Nation believes that they still have a great base on both offense and defense and will once again be a favorite to win their 5th straight division title.