Comparing this year’s Bills to last year’s Bills

Where did the Bills upgrade/downgrade this offseason?

The Bills had an incredible 2021 season but ultimately fell short. A lot of teams in the NFL were very active this offseason and the league is going to look a lot different this season compared to last season. The Bills are one of the teams that made plenty of notable signings to upgrade their roster. Below, I’ll highlight how each position group on the Bills roster has changed this offseason.

Quarterbacks  

Last year the Bills had one of the best QB rooms in the NFL with Josh Allen, Mitchell Trubisky, and Davis Webb. This offseason, Trubisky signed to the Pittsburgh Steelers and Webb signed to the New York Giants, leaving a couple roster spots open. They went out and traded a seventh-round draft pick to the Browns for Case Keenum, a reliable veteran to back up Allen. Also in this offseason, they brought back Matt Barkley (played with Bills 2018-2020), signing him to a one-year contract to round out the quarterback room. The Bills downgraded in this position, in large part due to Trubisky offering slightly more as a backup than Keenum.

Running backs  

The Bills have one of the league’s best offenses due to their passing game. When it comes to the rushing attack, they didn’t get that consistently rolling until the later part of the season. This offseason, the Bills didn’t lose any of their core running backs and added a couple weapons. They signed Duke Johnson to a one-year deal and did some work in the NFL Draft by selecting running back James Cook in the second round. The Bills upgraded in this position because of the additions of Johnson and Cook.

Wide receivers  

Last season, the Bills had one of the best wide receiving groups in the NFL, and I believe they have only improved at the position. The Bills released Cole Beasley and also lost Emmanuel Sanders. They Beasley’s replacement, Jamison Crowder and they recently extended Stefon Diggs’ contract. In the Draft, the Bills drafted Khalil Shakir in the fifth round to add to an already-stacked position. Emmanuel Sanders leaving allows Gabe Davis to be one of the leaders on offense at the WR2 position. I believe the Bills have upgraded at this position because of the additions of Shakir and Crowder, as well as a speedy guy like Tavon Austin who has a chance to make the roster. Sanders absence leaves a ton of targets up for grabs, but I believe Davis is ready to step up.

Tight ends  

The Bills upgraded at the tight end position this offseason solely because of the signing of O.J. Howard. Dawson Knox had an incredible 2021 season compared to his 2020 season performance, as he’s worked a ton to fix what he was lacking. Knox provides the Bills with a solid starter at the position but they didn’t have much help behind him, as their only other option at tight end was Tommy Sweeney. The Bills offense couldn’t do much with two tight ends in the passing game, and to help that problem, they have signed former first-round pick O.J. Howard. They also signed undrafted free agent TE Jalen Wydermyer.  

Offensive line  

The Bills o-line had some troubles in 2021, but when healthy, the o-line worked very well together and helped the running game a lot toward the end of the 2021 NFL season. They upgraded this offseason due to the signing of Rodger Saffold, who will come in and start at left guard right away. He’ll solidify the left side of the line with Dion Dawkins playing tackle next to him. They also extended Mitch Morse’s contract for another two years and resigned Ryan Bates to a four-year deal. The Bills have upgraded at this position.

Defensive line  

In 2021, the Bills d-line had some troubles stopping the run and lost to run-heavy opponents. The Bills drafted two d-linemen in the 2021 NFL draft to add to the line (Greg Rousseau and Boogie Basham), and this offseason they made a splash by signing Von Miller who just recently won a super bowl with the LA Rams. The Bills also picked up Shaq Lawson, Tim Settle, Brandin Bryant, and Jordan Phillips this off-season. The Bills have definitely upgraded in this position because of the addition of a big-name talent in Miller and they now have bigger guys to fill gaps to stop the run.

Cornerbacks  

The injury of star cornerback Tre’Davious White caused some concern at the position last year for the Bills. This forced rookie CB Dane Jackson to step up and play his first season at cornerback two, meanwhile Levi Wallace had to step up and play the cornerback one role in Whites absents. Buffalo lost Wallace to free agency this offseason, which made the position important to address. The Bills went into the draft thinking cornerback and drafted Kaiir Elam in the first round. White is expected to return early in the 2022 NFL season. The Bills also added some depth to this position by drafting Christian Benford in the sixth round of the 2022 NFL draft. It’s hard to say for sure, but as of right now, the Bills have downgraded at this position but it could turn out to be an upgrade with the development of Elam.

Special teams

The Bills will see an upgrade on special teams this year because of their sixth-round draft pick, punter Matt Araiza. He should come in and win the starting punter job, giving them a boost to their punt unit. Matt Haack struggled at times last year and consistently pinning other teams deep with Araiza’s leg will benefit the Bills. They also added a couple speedy WRs, Khalil Shakir and Tavon Austin, that could potentially help in the return game

Overall 

I didn’t mention the linebackers and safeties because those two units are basically going to run the same players back from last year, headed by talents like Jordan Poyer, Micah Hyde, Tremaine Edmunds and Matt Milano.

The Bills have definitely made some big moves this offseason and have improved tremendously, which is a big reason why they are Super Bowl favorites going into the 2022 season. The Bills will have a whole new look next season, and especially with a new offensive coordinator (Ken Dorsey) in 2022, the transition will be easier because they upgraded at nearly every position on the depth chart.