ESPN ranks the Buffalo Bills highly for 'long-term success'
ESPN ranks the #Bills highly for ‘long-term success’
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The Bills are set up well for the long term.
This is according to an ESPN 2024 NFL Future Power Rankings: Projections for all 32 teams list of teams the sports media outlet deems built for the future.
Power rankings this time of the year in the NFL can be speculative, being that it’s the offseason, and those projections are often educated guesses towards the coming year’s campaign.
In the case of ESPN’s rankings, they’re looking farther out ahead to the future in terms of what team’s project to have sustainable success over an extended period of time, and the Bills are among those at the top of the list.
For this list, ESPN’s focus is long-term projection over the next three seasons (2024 through 2026) and the analysis is provided by Dan Graziano, Louis Riddick, and Aaron Schatz. The trio was asked to rate each team’s quarterback situation, the rest of each club’s non-QB roster makeup, as well as each franchise’s front office and coaching staff, using the following scale:
- 100: A+ (elite)
- 90: A (great)
- 80: B (very good)
- 70: C (average)
- 60: D (very bad)
- 50 and below: F (disastrous)
The final outcome projects how well each team is positioned for the future, along with the three analysts reasons for optimism, reasons to worry, and crucial stats/nuggets to know for each club.
Here’s what ESPN had to say about the Bills, who they have ranked at third overall on the list behind only the Chiefs (1), and Ravens (2):
3. Buffalo Bills
Overall score: 89.5
| CATEGORY | SCORE | NFL RANK |
|---|---|---|
| Overall roster (minus QB) | 85.0 | 10 |
| Quarterback | 96.0 | 2 |
| Coaching | 89.7 | 9 |
| Front office | 89.7 | 4 |
Reason for hope: Josh Allen isn’t going anywhere anytime soon, and the offense was already transitioning late last season to one built around emerging young stars Dalton Kincaid and James Cook. The Bills spent the offseason necessarily getting younger on defense, and under coach Sean McDermott’s leadership, that group should develop quickly. — Graziano
Reason for concern: The Bills’ pass rush and run game have taken steps forward, so I’m looking at their wide receiver group. Who will step up and consistently win down the field outside the numbers with Stefon Diggs no longer on the roster? I really like rookie wideout Keon Coleman from Florida State, but he must prove to be the team’s next physical, big-play WR. — Riddick
Nugget to know: Khalil Shakir is expected to be one of Buffalo’s starting wide receivers this season alongside Coleman, and he was tied for 24th among wideouts in ESPN’s receiver tracking metrics in 2023. He was excellent in catch score (72) but less impressive in open score (48). The 24-year-old had 39 catches for 611 yards and two touchdowns with an excellent 87% catch rate. — Schatz
