Buffalo Bills 2026 preview: Joe Brady begins new era with the league's best quarterback

• Josh Allen remains Buffalo's foundation: The Bills quarterback enters 2026 after six straight 90.0-plus PFF grades and another season as a runner.

• New additions reshape the roster: Buffalo bolstered its receiving corps with DJ Moore while adding upside on defense through free agency and the draft.

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Josh Allen was the only one of the AFC's “big four quarterbacks” to make the playoffs last season, so everything appeared to be in place for the Bills to finally get over the hump and reach the Super Bowl for the first time since the 1993 season. Instead, an overtime loss to the Broncos in Denver ended their season in the divisional round.

Buffalo responded by moving on from head coach Sean McDermott and replacing him with Joe Brady. Here is our 2026 preview of the Buffalo Bills.

Key Free Agency/Trade Additions

D.J. Moore should immediately become the Bills' top wide receiver, though it is fair to wonder whether we've already seen the best of his career. In his first season with the Chicago Bears in 2023, he averaged 2.31 yards per route run, with that figure declining in each of the past two seasons. He remains a reliable target, though, having dropped just 5.5% of the catchable passes thrown his way throughout his career.

The Bills also took a couple of upside swings on the defensive side of the ball in free agency, and if they can get the best out of Bradley Chubb and C.J. Gardner-Johnson, they will be thrilled. Chubb posted an 88.8 PFF grade in 2023, generating 70 pressures on 475 pass-rushing snaps before missing the entire 2024 season with a knee injury. He returned to the field last season and generated 48 pressures on 393 pass-rushing snaps.

Gardner-Johnson earned a 77.0 PFF grade with the Super Bowl champion Philadelphia Eagles in 2024, but that mark plummeted to 51.4 in 2025. He split time between the Chicago Bears and Houston Texans while also spending part of the season on the Baltimore Ravens‘ roster.

2026 NFL Draft Class

T.J. Parker earned PFF grades above 80.0 in each of his final two seasons at Clemson and has the length to become a difference-maker at the next level with the right coaching. He generated 41 pressures on 325 pass-rushing snaps in 2025, with 17 resulting in either a sack or quarterback hit.

Skyler Bell could force his way into the wide receiver rotation sooner rather than later after producing 1,282 receiving yards and 13 touchdowns last season. He dropped just 3.8% of the catchable targets thrown his way while averaging 3.13 yards per route run and 8.2 yards after the catch, all of which were career highs.

Reasons for optimism

Josh Allen is the first quarterback in 20 years of PFF grading to produce six straight 90.0-plus PFF grades, having accomplished the feat every year since 2020. His turnover-worthy play rate has declined in each of the past three seasons, reaching a new career low each year and rewriting the narrative surrounding his ability to protect the football.

He is also one of the NFL's best running quarterbacks, as he has put up a 90.0-plus PFF rushing grade in five straight seasons. Whether scrambling or converting in short-yardage situations, Allen has scored at least 14 rushing touchdowns in three straight seasons, including the playoffs, while forcing at least 20 missed tackles in each of the past five seasons.

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Reason for pessimism

It's not that there isn't talent around Allen, but he does lack a true No. 1 target at wide receiver. Khalil Shakir led the Bills' wide receivers in yards per route run last season at 1.80, but that ranked just 30th among NFL wide receivers. They do have Dalton Kincaid at tight end, who led all players at the position in yards per route run in 2025 (2.70), but it's unlikely Buffalo's wide receivers will strike much fear into opposing defenses in 2026.

That doesn't mean the offense can't be successful. Rather, it suggests the passing game will continue to flow through the middle of the field.

Breakout Candidate

A fourth-round draft pick last season, Deone Walker showed some encouraging flashes during his rookie campaign. Despite what you might expect from a player his size, the former Kentucky Wildcat made his biggest impact as a pass-rusher, earning a 78.3 PFF pass-rush grade while generating 20 pressures on 283 pass-rushing snaps.

A full NFL offseason should give him the opportunity to take another step forward and make an even bigger impact along the interior of the Bills' defensive line.

Key roster battles

Mitch Wishnowsky turned in a solid season for the Bills last year, earning a 71.3 PFF punting grade that ranked 15th among NFL punters. Just 26.8% of his punts were returned, and the Bills allowed only 69 return yards on those punts, leading the league in both categories. Buffalo still used a seventh-round draft pick on former Florida punter Tommy Doman. Doman had the best season of his college career in his lone year with the Gators, earning a 92.2 PFF punting grade that led all punters in the 2026 draft class.