The Athletic: Bills offseason needs: Wide receiver and several pieces for a new defensive scheme

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Bills offseason needs: Wide receiver and several pieces for a new defensive scheme

A new scheme brings new needs all over the roster.

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New Bills head coach Joe Brady will have to help find wide receivers for quarterback Josh Allen. Shawn Dowd / Imagn Images

As the parade confetti settled earlier this week in Seattle, celebrating the Super Bowl champion Seahawks, the 2025 NFL season came to its official end. The offseason has now arrived in full force.

For the Buffalo Bills, under general manager Brandon Beane and new head coach Joe Brady, it’s time to fix the roster to match their new vision of how they want their team to operate.

On Thursday, we identified the Bills’ biggest need. Now it’s time for a deep dive into positional needs, separated into three categories that indicate the level of urgency at this point.

Primary needs​

Wide receiver​

This position remained a talking point the entire season, and for good reason. The receivers the Bills used on the boundary were nowhere near what the team needed them to be, whether due to performance, injury, maturity, or a combination of those factors. It was telling that the Bills had to depend on 31-year-old Brandin Cooks, whom they acquired in Week 13, to be their most important boundary receiver entering the playoffs. The Bills have three receivers — Keon Coleman, Joshua Palmer and Tyrell Shavers — they will likely want to see develop next season. But none of them is likely to make the Bills hesitate to make a significant move to add to the position.

Khalil Shakir is their primary slot receiver, and that will likely continue. Beane still appears to be somewhat bullish on Coleman’s future, and with his fit primarily being either at X receiver or in the slot, it may narrow what the Bills are looking for this offseason. If they can find a versatile receiver who majors in Z and specializes in intermediate- to deep-field separation, it would go a long way toward opening things up for their offense. It remains a distinct possibility that the Bills’ biggest swing this offseason, whether via trade, free agency or in the draft, will be landing a potential impact wide receiver.

Edge rusher/outside linebacker​

With the Bills’ switch in defensive scheme, they’re likely extremely shorthanded at edge rusher. Greg Rousseau may be destined for a different base position, Joey Bosa and A.J. Epenesa are free agents, Michael Hoecht is coming off a major Achilles injury, and Landon Jackson is a difficult-to-project scheme fit who didn’t play most of his rookie season. The Bills will likely scout the position differently since in their new base set, the edge rushers will be outside linebackers. Explosiveness, fluidity and some ability to drop into coverage will be key qualities of those players.

The Bills being thin on the edge makes it one of their top needs over the next few months. They need starting options and some depth. One of those investments could be significant, given how much the team discussed its desire to impact opponents after the snap. All avenues to find an impact player to help the transition to a new defensive scheme are on the table, but the draft may be their best bet.

Inside linebacker​

Evaluating how Terrel Bernard fits into the new scheme will ultimately determine how big a need this is. Generally speaking, this type of scheme requires linebackers who are a bit bigger and can get off their blocks to make tackles, and Bernard is a bit smaller and has struggled to shed blocks at times throughout his career. Regardless, the Bills are very much of the belief that Bernard’s injury in 2025 held him back considerably. The team really doesn’t have an easy way out of his contract, either, so Bernard may be a starter regardless.

As for the other starting spot, Matt Milano and Shaq Thompson are free agents, which leaves only Bernard, Dorian Williams and Joe Andreessen. Williams’ fit into the role has some intrigue, but he’s entering the last year of his rookie deal. More than likely, the Bills will look to add someone with some potential long-term starting appeal. One of the early reads on the 2026 draft class is that the linebacker class is a good one, so that could be a path the Bills take to try to find a starter. If not, another potential starting option for 2026 is needed to compete with Williams.

Interior offensive line​

This is a straightforward need, as two starters — left guard David Edwards and center Connor McGovern — are soon-to-be free agents. The Bills could try to get one of the two back, but because both players are still in their 20s and are coming off two very impressive seasons, it won’t be easy in an NFL hungry for good offensive linemen. The cost could wind up being too great for one or both, especially with the Bills’ salary cap issues and other needs.

The team believes they likely have two in-house options as potential replacements, as reserve offensive linemen Alec Anderson and Sedrick Van Pran-Granger could compete for starting roles. Van Pran-Granger’s best path to starting in his third season would be if the Bills move on from McGovern because Van Pran-Granger has been a center only. Anderson could compete for either role, but is best suited to guard. Anderson is also a restricted free agent. If the Bills don’t re-sign either Edwards or McGovern, they likely will at least add legitimate competition for both roles, making Van Pran-Granger, Anderson, or both earn a starting job this summer.

Nickel​

If you’re looking for a sneaky big need for the Bills in 2026, it’s their nickel corner spot. Taron Johnson has been the long-term starter for the majority of the time since he was drafted in 2018, but things are changing in Buffalo with new defensive coordinator Jim Leonhard. When Leonhard was asked about Johnson, he said, “It is a position that schematically was different in what we did in Denver and here.” That is potentially very telling about their upcoming offseason, because the Bills don’t have anyone under contract who is best suited to a nickel role with a lot of man coverage responsibilities. Johnson and second-year player Jordan Hancock are better suited to a zone scheme. The same goes for Cam Lewis, but he is a free agent. Because the Bills may not have anyone with the man-coverage skills to play the role, it wouldn’t be a shock if they made a bigger-than-expected investment in the position.

Secondary needs​

Safety​

This need was very close to being placed in the primary category, but the Bills have some in-house options, which is why I put it atop the secondary needs. The Bills know they have Cole Bishop as one of their two starters. At the other spot, they have three options under contract. One is second-year player Jordan Hancock, who showed some flashes as a rookie at the position. Johnson is a candidate to move to safety, given Leonhard’s comments about the nickel position. The other possibility is Taylor Rapp. He is a cut candidate given potential team savings of more than $3 million; however, he does have experience in several defenses, so writing him off would be unwise. No matter who the coaches pencil in initially, additional competition and depth are needed.

The Bills could bring in another cornerback to be a depth piece or challenge Maxwell Hairston.
Sam Greene / Imagn Images

Cornerback​

The Bills have a locked-in top starter in Christian Benford, and they’ll look to Maxwell Hairston to make a jump to a full-time starter in his second season. Past them, the Bills need some depth and will likely target players with more man coverage skills than the previous regime. Tre’Davious White is a free agent and is best suited to a zone scheme, which amplifies the need to find a primary backup or even someone who could challenge Hairston this summer.

Backup quarterback​

Mitch Trubisky is out of contract, which means the Bills will need to make at least one semi-substantial move in the offseason to find Josh Allen’s backup. It could be re-signing Trubisky. Or might it finally be time for the Bills to invest a Day 3 pick in a quarterback? They haven’t selected a quarterback since 2020, when they took Jake Fromm in the fifth round. Allen turns 30 this spring, and as he gets older, his risk of injury increases. Having a long-term backup solution on a cost-effective rookie deal is an ideal situation if the Bills can find the right one.

Nose tackle​

The emergence of Deone Walker as a rookie was so important because it potentially crossed nose tackle off the primary need list. Walker will need to acclimate to the change in role, and the Bills also could use a backup more suitable to the new defensive scheme. The only other holdover who might fit that role is practice squad player Zion Logue.

Defensive end​

Remember, this isn’t what defensive end used to be for the Bills. With the new defensive scheme, this is reserved for longer-limbed defenders in the 280 to 300-pound range. The Bills seem to have a handful of players who can immediately contribute in Greg Rousseau, Ed Oliver and T.J. Sanders, but they could use another, perhaps one with more experience in an odd-man front, to round out the group.

Fullback​

Reggie Gilliam is a free agent, and there isn’t another fullback on the roster. Considering how often they used one, they’ll need to re-sign Gilliam, add a different fullback or develop someone else on the roster to handle the job. Tight end Jackson Hawes could be a candidate if the team wants to save a roster spot for a different position.

Punter​

The Bills don’t have a punter on their roster at the moment, as Mitch Wishnowsky is a free agent. After trying the journeyman route for years on end, the team could target a young punter, either late in the draft or as an undrafted priority free agent.

Tertiary needs​

Running back​

This becomes a later-round draft pick need only if the Bills move on from third-down back Ty Johnson, who will be 29 this season. The Bills can get solid cap savings if they part ways with him. Ray Davis showed well enough as the team’s third-down back in the playoffs to warrant consideration for a larger role. They would just need a young back to round out the room.

Tight end​

Much like running back, this becomes a potential later-round need in the draft if the team moves on from Dawson Knox to create some cap savings. If he’s back, the Bills should feel very good about a room including Knox, Dalton Kincaid, Hawes and Keleki Latu.

Offensive tackle​

The Bills have their starters set with right tackle Spencer Brown and left tackle Dion Dawkins. They even have a young player they have high hopes for in Tylan Grable. Generally, they like to carry four, so either they’ll need to re-sign restricted free agent Ryan Van Demark or find a low-cost fourth tackle elsewhere.

Kicker​

Beane said he “would expect” Tyler Bass to be the team’s kicker in 2026, so it sounds like the Bills will give him every opportunity to keep his job this summer. However, there is no guaranteed salary on the deal, and no roster bonus in 2026, so if the Bills give Bass some competition and he loses the job outright, they can save around $3 million this year. The team signed Maddux Trujillo to a reserve/futures deal, and the Bills could target a young kicker either with a late-round pick or as an undrafted priority free agent.