Bills sneaky draft needs: 5 positions Buffalo could proactively address for the future
Looking ahead to future free agents and cap hits could offer ideas into what future needs the Bills might look to address later this month.
www.nytimes.com
The 2025 NFL Draft will arrive in two weeks, and with it a chance for the Bills to add key pieces for the remaining prime years of franchise quarterback Josh Allen’s career. This deep into draft season, their top needs are pretty well known by now.
Between cornerback, defensive tackle, edge rusher, wide receiver and safety, the Bills will likely fill at least one, if not several, of those primary needs among their top picks. But some needs are more hidden than others.
While some previous positional strengths remain that way for 2025, when you dig beneath the surface, you see that sometimes future needs make current year needs stronger than at first glance. And sometimes those needs can even wind up as a “surprise” pick earlier than expected.
With that in mind, here are the “sneaky needs” that should be on your radar for the Bills as the draft approaches.
Interior offensive line
There may not be a need that’s sneakier than along the interior offensive line. The trio of center Connor McGovern, left guard David Edwards and right guard O’Cyrus Torrence was a big reason the offensive line performed so well in 2024. They’ll all resume their roles in 2025, and that’s why the need is as hidden as it is.This might be the last year the band is together. Extensions to players with contracts that weren’t up until after the 2025 season have defined the Bills’ offseason. With so many extensions already given out and cap commitments made, the chances they have to pick and choose who else they bring back are increased.
Keep in mind, of the interior offensive line trio, McGovern and Edwards are free agents in 2026. Torrence is due to be a free agent in 2027. Of the interior offensive line positions, the Bills have only issued a top-of-market deal to a center during general manager Brandon Beane’s tenure. They’ve given out some modest contracts to guards, but nothing over the top. That history is important to project future decision-making.
There is a chance the Bills may need to replace two or more of these starting positions in the coming years. They have a potential in-house option in Alec Anderson, though it remains to be seen what he’d do in a starting role rather than as a jumbo package sixth offensive lineman, and he’s also a restricted free agent in 2026. The Bills drafted center Sedrick Van Pran-Granger in 2024 with a fifth-round pick, though he struggled in his on-field opportunities and wound up as a healthy scratch in the final rounds of the playoffs. If their primary needs don’t have great value at a specific selection, an interior offensive lineman could receive heavy consideration.
Offensive tackle
On the surface, the Bills had one of the best offensive tackle duos in the league, with right tackle Spencer Brown and left tackle Dion Dawkins. Brown is signed through the 2028 season to keep him as one of the core pieces to protect Allen moving forward. However, the need has all to do with Dawkins. He has been one of the team’s best players for a long time, though he turns 31 later this month. Dawkins didn’t show any signs of an age-related drop-off in 2024, but once a player gets into his 30s, teams generally begin to prepare for what’s next.Perhaps showing a slight hint of future uncertainty, the Bills could have opened up almost $8 million in cap space by restructuring his 2025 base salary into a prorated signing bonus, but they have yet to do so. By keeping his contract as is, they gave themselves the flexibility to move on as early as next offseason if they choose to — saving nearly $9 million on the 2026 salary cap. On top of that, their only two depth pieces at offensive tackle are 2024 sixth-round pick Tylan Grable and Ryan Van Demark. They were impressed with Grable as a rookie, but a depth role and future starting potential are very different things. A chance to develop an offensive tackle with starting potential in the background could be appealing if they find the right one in the draft.
Running back
This could be the least sneaky need of the bunch given the very public contract demands of James Cook. His rookie deal is set to expire after 2025, and it’s fair to wonder if the two sides will find common ground for a new deal — especially after Buffalo handed out five expensive new contract extensions this offseason. The need for a running back in 2025 certainly is not an immediate one. With Cook, Ray Davis and Ty Johnson all under contract this year, the Bills have the same productive group as they had last year.
Last season, James Cook tied for the league lead in rushing touchdowns with 16. (Mark J. Rebilas / Imagn Images)
However, the 2025 NFL Draft could provide a legitimate chance to find a great long-term option on a cost-controlled deal through the 2028 season. This year’s running back class is touted as one of the strongest in several years, which presents an opportunity for the Bills to select a running back that, in most years, they would have to spend an earlier round selection on. It’s reminiscent of the talented receiver-heavy draft years when the Bills landed Gabe Davis in the fourth round (2020) and Khalil Shakir in the fifth round (2022). Even if there isn’t an obvious role available for a rookie running back in 2025, the Bills have enough of an internal case to warrant selecting one as early as the second round.
Outside linebacker
The team has its 2025 linebacker starters in place with Terrel Bernard in the middle and Matt Milano on the outside, but this season might be the final year of that partnership. Milano agreed to a pay cut in 2025 that also removed the final year of his contract, making him a free agent at the end of the year. The team has said all the right things about leaving the door open to Milano getting a new contract, though his price would likely have to come way down. Milano turns 31 in July. For a player with one of the most expansive injury histories on the roster, getting deeper into a player’s 30s usually doesn’t help those situations.The Bills do have Dorian Williams on the roster as Milano’s primary backup, and the starting experience he acquired while Milano was injured is certainly notable. Williams has improved, though opponents still have tried to target his aggressive nature on play action. The Bills responded by not having Williams play on third downs.
With Williams signed through 2026, this sneaky need might be a year early, but the Bills’ hesitation toward giving Williams a full role when in the lineup could be indicative of them wanting to improve the position once Milano’s time in Buffalo is over. Beyond Williams, the Bills have 2024 fifth-round pick Edefuan Ulofoshio, though he was a healthy scratch for much of the season.
Tight end
The Bills have Dalton Kincaid and Dawson Knox as their clear-cut top two at the position. Considering how Kincaid didn’t live up to the likely fantasy football-induced way-too-high expectations in 2024 due to his injury and Knox’s presence, there is a certain post-hype breakout sleeper appeal to the clearly talented Kincaid in 2025. Knox, though he seems like as good of a blocker to Kincaid’s role as the team believes he is against defenders in-game, he remains a favorite throughout the building. However, how much longer will that last, especially with Knox’s increasing cap hits?The 28-year-old Knox is signed through the 2026 season, though the Bills could save nearly $10 million in cap space by releasing him after this season. And like Dawkins, the Bills easily could have restructured Knox’s base salary into a prorated signing bonus for immediate substantial cap savings, but they declined to do so.
Even if they hang on to Knox through his final contract year in 2026, the Bills usually like to keep three tight ends on their 53-man roster, and they have yet to re-sign Quintin Morris to that role. In a good draft year for tight ends, coupled with it being a notoriously slow-to-acclimate position for the NFL, Buffalo could easily justify selecting one with the potential to fill Knox’s in-line role in a future season while providing depth and special-teams help in the meantime.