Freethinker
Hall of Famer
The Buffalo Bills have been a palatable franchise for awhile now, seemingly in-line with the drafting of Josh Allen. It appears that last year however was a high water mark of 8 starters and 18 total White athletes. The big offseason change was the firing of long time Allen coach Sean McDermott. While he had great regular season success, he couldn't lead the team to the Super Bowl despite the best QB in the NFL. So in comes the former OC, Joe Brady to see if he can get them over the top. CF favorite Jim Leonhard is the new defensive coordinator as well. Now let's see how the roster varies from last season's iteration.
Number of White Starters: 6
Number of Whites on the 53: 16
QB: Josh Allen, Kyle Allen
TE: Dalton Kincaid, Dawson Knox, Jackson Hawes
LG: Alec Anderson, Austin Corbett
C: Connor McGovern
RT: Spencer Brown
NT: Greg Gaines
OLB: Michael Hoecht
MLB: Joe Andreesen
FS: Cole Bishop
P: Tommy Doman Jr
PK: Tyler Bass
LS: Reid Ferguson
Practice Squad: Shane Buechele (QB), Brock Lampe (FB), Stephen Gosnell (WR), Chase Lundt (T)
Grade: D+
The biggest change is more sumos. Also, Joey Bosa was not brought back, despite him doing a great job as a situational rusher. Otherwise its a fairly similar cast of White characters.
Josh Allen, drafted 7th overall by the Buffalo Bills in 2018, has become the NFL's most complete quarterback, capturing his first career NFL MVP award in 2024 after a historic season that included Bills franchise records for total touchdowns (63) and points scored (509), plus a string of unprecedented statistical feats — including becoming the first player in NFL history with multiple passing TDs, multiple rushing TDs, 350+ passing yards, and 60+ rushing yards in the same game. He backed that up with another strong 2025 campaign (4,247 total yards, 39 total TDs, the only player in the league with 3,000+ passing and 500+ rushing yards), finishing 3rd in MVP voting and earning his 4th career Pro Bowl selection. Through his first seven NFL seasons, Allen holds the all-time record for most wins (76), total touchdowns (262), and total yards (30,595) by any player in that span — cementing him, entering 2026, as a perennial MVP frontrunner and the driving force behind Buffalo's sustained run of AFC contention.
One of his top offensive weapons will be the athletic TE Dalton Kincaid. He's had a good career thus far but hasn't had that truly breakout season yet. After a career best week 1 in which he totaled 130 receiving yards, my money is on this season being just that. His first thousand yard season will be well within grasp. Veteran Dawson Knox and younger talent Jackson Hawes return as arguably the best TE depth for any team.
The offensive line is another strength. Connor McGovern is the glue and widely considered one of the top centers in the NFL. Spencer Brown is also considered a premier RT as he enters his 6th season. Alec Anderson steps into the starting LG position to replace the departed David Edwards. That's the good news, but the bad news is the depth is nearly all-sumo.
On the defensive side, Cole Bishop is the standout as a rare White starting safety. Bishop, a 2024 second-round pick, broke out in 2025 with 85 tackles, 3 interceptions, and 2 sacks — highlighted by a game-sealing interception in Buffalo's Wild Card win over Jacksonville — establishing himself as a legitimate every-down starter. Heading into 2026, he's widely tabbed as a breakout candidate (and even a potential "next star") under new defensive coordinator Jim Leonhard's more aggressive scheme.
Michael Hoecht is not an official starter, but he'll rotate in enough that it might appear that he's one. I'm expecting a big bounce back after his first season with his "hometown team" (he's from nearby Ontario) was ruined by a suspension and then an immediate season ending injury. Greg Gaines is another guy who's going to rotate in heavily and even get an occasional spot start (like in week 2 due to injury to Oliver). A rare traditional nose tackle but he shouldn't be. We've discussed many times how one of the more absurd aspects of the Caste System is the erasure of large, White men who can play on the interior of the defensive line. White men are plenty tall, large and strong as evidenced by our domination of World's Strongest Men competitions. Yet if you went based off of the NFL, you would think the exact opposite was true. Weird, huh. Buffalo native Joe Andreesen serves as a pure backup and special teams guy.
As I mentioned earlier, the still unsigned Joey Bosa would be a nice upgrade if they could bring him back in season. I also wouldn't mind seeing a Matt Milano return but I'm not sure if there is any interest. He's another guy who should have widespread interest from NFL teams, but doesn't. I wonder why that could be? (sarcasm). As far as in-season moves, there isn't too much on the practice squad. The 3rd string QB, a traditional FB (who could get elevated if they feel the need to support the running attack), an extra tackle and the former Virginia Tech standout WR Stephen Gosnell. It would be cool is Gosnell got a cup of coffee this year but he's got 6 or more receivers ahead of him.
The Bills will remain one of the better teams to root for in the AFC and I think every CFer would love to see Josh Allen win a championship at some point.
Number of White Starters: 6
Number of Whites on the 53: 16
QB: Josh Allen, Kyle Allen
TE: Dalton Kincaid, Dawson Knox, Jackson Hawes
LG: Alec Anderson, Austin Corbett
C: Connor McGovern
RT: Spencer Brown
NT: Greg Gaines
OLB: Michael Hoecht
MLB: Joe Andreesen
FS: Cole Bishop
P: Tommy Doman Jr
PK: Tyler Bass
LS: Reid Ferguson
Practice Squad: Shane Buechele (QB), Brock Lampe (FB), Stephen Gosnell (WR), Chase Lundt (T)
Grade: D+
The biggest change is more sumos. Also, Joey Bosa was not brought back, despite him doing a great job as a situational rusher. Otherwise its a fairly similar cast of White characters.
Josh Allen, drafted 7th overall by the Buffalo Bills in 2018, has become the NFL's most complete quarterback, capturing his first career NFL MVP award in 2024 after a historic season that included Bills franchise records for total touchdowns (63) and points scored (509), plus a string of unprecedented statistical feats — including becoming the first player in NFL history with multiple passing TDs, multiple rushing TDs, 350+ passing yards, and 60+ rushing yards in the same game. He backed that up with another strong 2025 campaign (4,247 total yards, 39 total TDs, the only player in the league with 3,000+ passing and 500+ rushing yards), finishing 3rd in MVP voting and earning his 4th career Pro Bowl selection. Through his first seven NFL seasons, Allen holds the all-time record for most wins (76), total touchdowns (262), and total yards (30,595) by any player in that span — cementing him, entering 2026, as a perennial MVP frontrunner and the driving force behind Buffalo's sustained run of AFC contention.
One of his top offensive weapons will be the athletic TE Dalton Kincaid. He's had a good career thus far but hasn't had that truly breakout season yet. After a career best week 1 in which he totaled 130 receiving yards, my money is on this season being just that. His first thousand yard season will be well within grasp. Veteran Dawson Knox and younger talent Jackson Hawes return as arguably the best TE depth for any team.
The offensive line is another strength. Connor McGovern is the glue and widely considered one of the top centers in the NFL. Spencer Brown is also considered a premier RT as he enters his 6th season. Alec Anderson steps into the starting LG position to replace the departed David Edwards. That's the good news, but the bad news is the depth is nearly all-sumo.
On the defensive side, Cole Bishop is the standout as a rare White starting safety. Bishop, a 2024 second-round pick, broke out in 2025 with 85 tackles, 3 interceptions, and 2 sacks — highlighted by a game-sealing interception in Buffalo's Wild Card win over Jacksonville — establishing himself as a legitimate every-down starter. Heading into 2026, he's widely tabbed as a breakout candidate (and even a potential "next star") under new defensive coordinator Jim Leonhard's more aggressive scheme.
Michael Hoecht is not an official starter, but he'll rotate in enough that it might appear that he's one. I'm expecting a big bounce back after his first season with his "hometown team" (he's from nearby Ontario) was ruined by a suspension and then an immediate season ending injury. Greg Gaines is another guy who's going to rotate in heavily and even get an occasional spot start (like in week 2 due to injury to Oliver). A rare traditional nose tackle but he shouldn't be. We've discussed many times how one of the more absurd aspects of the Caste System is the erasure of large, White men who can play on the interior of the defensive line. White men are plenty tall, large and strong as evidenced by our domination of World's Strongest Men competitions. Yet if you went based off of the NFL, you would think the exact opposite was true. Weird, huh. Buffalo native Joe Andreesen serves as a pure backup and special teams guy.
As I mentioned earlier, the still unsigned Joey Bosa would be a nice upgrade if they could bring him back in season. I also wouldn't mind seeing a Matt Milano return but I'm not sure if there is any interest. He's another guy who should have widespread interest from NFL teams, but doesn't. I wonder why that could be? (sarcasm). As far as in-season moves, there isn't too much on the practice squad. The 3rd string QB, a traditional FB (who could get elevated if they feel the need to support the running attack), an extra tackle and the former Virginia Tech standout WR Stephen Gosnell. It would be cool is Gosnell got a cup of coffee this year but he's got 6 or more receivers ahead of him.
The Bills will remain one of the better teams to root for in the AFC and I think every CFer would love to see Josh Allen win a championship at some point.
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