The Buffalo Bills have been quite busy keeping some of the productive members on their roster early this offseason, which is keeping the team mostly intact after their run to the AFC Championship Game last season.
Yet, one recent power rankings has the organization dropping slightly after the first wave of moves in NFL free agency.
Bills Drop to Fourth in Recent Power Rankings Piece
NFL.com Lead Draft Writer Eric Edholm still put the Bills among the top five teams in the league in his NFL Power Rankings article after the first week of free agency, but did have some reasons for the AFC runner up falling slightly in his rankings.
Edholm wrote, “The Bills were off to a smart start to the offseason, re-signing core players during a down year for free-agent talent. Even so, Josh Allen’s new contract offered enough additional immediate flexibility to spend a little more, and they appeared to boost the D-line with Joey Bosa, Michael Hoecht, and Larry Ogunjobi.”
Edholm recognizes that Buffalo did manage to sign the reigning league MVP to a lucrative contract extension, but didn’t overlook the fact that their headline signing of this free agency period comes with some durability concerns and the other two additions are facing suspensions.
Edholm added, “Bosa isn’t the rusher he once was, and his health is a concern. And perhaps more pressing, both Hoecht and Ogunjobi are facing six-game suspensions for violating the league’s performance-enhancing drug policy.”
The Bills released former Super Bowl MVP Von Miller earlier this offseason, which likely had to do with his high salary for an aging player. The team deciding to pay Bosa and Hoecht is a clear attempt to find a consistent pass-rushing contributor to work alongside Greg Rousseau to replace Miller’s six sacks from a season ago.
Bills Potential Options Entering the 2025 NFL Draft
The Bills have consistently been picking in the twenties or thirties of most every NFL Draft since the emergence of Allen as a superstar in this league, which often has limited their ability to land an impactful player in the draft.
Edholm commented on the Bills options entering the draft by saying, “Even for a team that has made the postseason six straight years, that leaves Buffalo awfully thin early in the season. I thought at one point that the Bills had more draft flexibility, but now I wonder if they don’t have to go defensive line in Round 1.”
In addition to the team managing to retain players like Ty Johnson, Khalil Shakir, Terrel Bernard, and Damar Hamlin with new contracts combined with the signings of Joshua Palmer and Kendrick Green does limit the amount of holes the franchise needs to plug entering the draft, but can be argued it doesn’t move the needle a ton for rising in the power rankings approaching the 2025 NFL season.
Lastly, the Bills did decide to part ways with CB Kaiir Elam by trading him to the Dallas Cowboys. Elam didn’t live up to the lofty expectations the organization had for him when they spend a first-round pick on the Florida product back in 2022, which could make cornerback a potential option for the Bills at No. 30 overall.
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