As a lead-up to the 2024 NFL draft, we’ve broken down the current depth chart of every NFL team and identified the biggest draft and team needs for the Buffalo Bills.
You can find additional team-by-team draft needs articles and other draft content on our 2024 NFL Draft Hub.
Buffalo Bills Needs: Top Positions of Need in 2024
- Wide Receiver
- Defensive Back
- Defensive Line
What Picks Do the Buffalo Bills Have in 2024?
The Buffalo Bills have 10 picks in the 2024 NFL Draft, including:
- Round 1 (28)
- Round 2 (60)
- Round 4 (128)
- Round 4 (133)
- Round 5 (144)
- Round 5 (160)
- Round 5 (163)
- Round 6 (200)
- Round 6 (204)
- Round 7 (248)
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The preview is unlike anything you have ever seen, featuring stunning visualizations built with the reader in mind.
This preview shares insights into players, coaches, teams, and philosophies with one goal in mind: to prepare you for the 2024 NFL season by delivering the smartest information in the fastest, most direct way possible.
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Buffalo Bills Draft Capital Stats
Our Sharp Draft Value Rank is a valuation of draft capital based on a combination of average performance delivered and average dollars earned on second contracts.
This is based on two public models: performance delivered based on draft slot (the AV model created by Chase Stuart) and contractual earnings in non-rookie deals based upon draft slot (the OTC model created by Brad Spielberger and Jason Fitzgerald).
- Bills Sharp Draft Value Rank: 20 of 32 teams
- Bills AV Model Draft Value Rank: 23 of 32 teams
- Bills OTC Model Draft Value Rank: 14 of 32 teams
Buffalo Bills Draft Value vs. Other Teams:
The Bills’ draft value is 8% lower than the league average of all 32 teams. 19 other teams have more draft value entering the 2024 NFL Draft.
Buffalo Bills Draft Prediction:
Brendan Donahue has the Bills trading up to select Brian Thomas Jr. (WR, LSU) with the 22nd overall pick in his most recent 2024 NFL Mock Draft.
Mock draft expert Ryan McCrystal believes the Bills could target a wide receiver Adonai Mitchell (WR, Texas) with their top pick at No. 28 overall in the first round.
Buffalo Bills Strength of Schedule, 2024
The Buffalo Bills have the 10th-hardest NFL strength of schedule for the 2024 NFL season.
Buffalo Bills Offense: Depth Chart, Analysis & Draft Needs
Rich Hribar breaks down the offensive depth chart by position for the Buffalo Bills, identifying areas where the team could improve in the upcoming 2024 NFL Draft.
Quarterback Depth Chart, Bills:
- Josh Allen
- Mitchell Trubisky
- Shane Buechele
Going 11-6, the Bills have won double-digit games in five straight seasons with Josh Allen under center.
Allen had dips in production last season at moments, but he once again carried this offense.
He had a career-high 3.1% interception rate while his 5.0% touchdown rate as a passer was his lowest in a season since 2019.
Despite the turnovers and reduction in touchdown passes, Allen was still fourth in the league in EPA per dropback (0.13) and second in success rate (50.1%).
Allen was sacked on just 4.0% of his dropbacks, which led the league.
He also added a career-high 15 rushing touchdowns.
Allen has 53 rushing scores since entering the NFL in 2018, the most in the league.
Outside of the touchdowns, the Bills did reduce putting Allen in harm’s way as a runner last season.
Allen rushed 4.7 times per game, his fewest in a season since 2020. Allen rushed 6.3 and 6.1 times per game in the previous two seasons.
His 30.8 rushing yards per game were his fewest since that 2020 season after 44.9 and 47.6 yards per game the previous two seasons.
This is the first season that Allen’s contract balloons, and we have already seen the ripple effects of that impact across the organization this offseason.
Allen’s cap hit jumps up to $30.4 million this season and then spikes up to $60.7 million, $56 million, $49.5 million, and $45.7 million over the remaining years of his contract.
Buffalo brought back Mitchell Trubisky, who was behind Allen in 2021.
Running Back Depth Chart, Bills:
- James Cook
- Ty Johnson
- Darrynton Evans
- Reggie Gilliam (FB)
James Cook made significant strides in his second season.
After 110 touches for 687 yards and three touchdowns as a rookie, Cook turned 281 touches into 1,567 yards and six touchdowns last season.
Only Christian McCaffrey and Breece Hall had more total yards on the season than Cook did.
Cook did that on 62.2% of the backfield touches, which was 11th in the league.
The Bills did not use Cook as a thumper near the goal line or in short yardage.
Latavius Murray out-snapped Cook 25-to-13 inside of the five-yard line last season.
Murray also out-snapped Cook 75-to-60 in situations needing 1-3 yards for a new set of downs. Murray outscored Cook 38-to-32 in those situations.
They currently do not have a player like Murray on the depth chart, so either Cook is going to have his role expand for a third straight season or Buffalo is going to be on the lookout for a bigger-bodied back in this draft or afterward.
They have an abundance of Day 3 picks to fill that spot in this class.
Wide Receiver Depth Chart, Bills:
- Curtis Samuel
- Khalil Shakir
- Mack Hollins
- K.J. Hamler
- Andy Isabella
- Justin Shorter
- Tyrell Shavers
- Bryan Thompson
The Bills have a lot of moving parts at the wide receiver position.
In 2023, Buffalo had five different wide receivers receive 20 or more targets on the season. Four of them are no longer with the team.
At the top of that list, they traded Stefon Diggs (160 targets) while Gabe Davis (81 targets) left via free agency.
Khalil Shakir remains, who was third among their wideouts in targets last season with just 45.
Shakir did catch 39 of those targets for 15.7 yards per catch, however.
Shakir had a first down or touchdown on 57.8% of his targets, which was second among all wide receivers to run 100 or more routes.
Shakir took on a larger role to close the season, running a route on 74.3% of the team dropbacks over the final 10 games of the season after an 18.7% rate up until that point of the season.
Over that span, he led the team in receiving yards (536) despite having 46 fewer targets than Diggs, 28 fewer than Dalton Kincaid, and 10 fewer than Davis.
The Bills have brought in a few warm bodies with limited NFL production in Mack Hollins, Andy Isabella, and K.J. Hamler, but their most noteworthy addition this offseason has been Curtis Samuel.
Samuel had his best season in the NFL playing with offensive coordinator Joe Brady in Carolina in 2020.
That said, Samuel still has never had 900 yards receiving in any of his seven NFL seasons while averaging 10.7 yards per reception.
He is more of a solid component to a top-down passing game as opposed to running a passing game through him.
It is no secret that the Bills will be looking to add receivers in this draft.
They have already used visits on Keon Coleman, Troy Franklin, Devontez Walker, Xavier Worthy, and Ryan Flournoy.
Tight End Depth Chart, Bills:
- Dalton Kincaid
- Dawson Knox
- Tre McKitty
- Quintin Morris
- Zach Davidson
Buffalo used a first-round pick on Dalton Kincaid last spring, who caught 73-of-91 targets for 673 yards and two touchdowns as a rookie.
The Bills did not find a great role for him until the close of the season, using him solely near the line of scrimmage for the crux of his rookie season.
Through Week 16, Kincaid averaged only 4.6 air yards per target with three total targets on throws 20 or more yards downfield. That was the same amount as Dawson Knox.
Over the final four games of the season, Kincaid averaged 12.5 air yards per target with four downfield targets, one more than he had through 16 weeks.
Over that span, Kincaid had games of 87, 84, 59, and 45 yards receiving.
He had cleared 51 yards in just three games through 16 weeks.
Given the losses that Buffalo has had at wide receiver this offseason, Kincaid should be tasked with a larger role in the passing game entering his second season.
The Bills still have Dawson Knox signed through 2026, who carries a cap hit of $7.7 million and $14 million over the next two seasons with no dead cap relief.
Knox caught 22 passes for 186 yards and two touchdowns over 12 games in 2023.
Offensive Line Depth Chart, Bills:
LT: Dion Dawkins, Ryan Van Demark, Richard Gouraige
LG: Connor McGovern, Alec Anderson
C: David Edwards, Will Clapp
RG: O’Cyrus Torrence, Kevin Jarvis
RT: Spencer Brown, La’El Collins, Tommy Doyle
The Bills were a staple of offensive line continuity in 2023.
The same five offensive linemen were on the field for 95.1% of their snaps, second in the NFL.
Buffalo is bringing back four of those starters, with the only exception being center Mitch Morse.
The Bills have in-house options to replace Morse between Connor McGovern and David Andrews.
Andrews is the favorite to take that spot, but McGovern has experience playing center in the NFL while both have taken the bulk of their snaps at guard.
Contractually, all of Dion Dawkins, McGovern, Andrews, and O’Cyrus Torrence are signed for multiple seasons.
The only starter that is set to become a free agent after this season is Spencer Brown.
To provide added depth, Buffalo added Will Clapp and La’El Collins in free agency, each on one-year deals.
Buffalo Bills Defense: Depth Chart, Analysis & Draft Needs
Raymond Summerlin breaks down the defensive depth chart by position for the Buffalo Bills, identifying areas where the team could improve in the upcoming 2024 NFL Draft.
Defensive Line Depth Chart, Bills:
- Ed Oliver
- DaQuan Jones
- Austin Johnson
- DeShawn Williams
- Eli Ankou
The Bills gave up 4.4 yards per running back carry (25th) but ranked 10th in yards before contact allowed on RB runs last season.
Buffalo brought back DaQuan Jones in free agency, keeping the top of this depth chart intact.
Jones only played in seven games a season ago, but he was impactful.
He recorded 3 run stuffs on limited snaps and had 2.5 sacks with a 15.7% pressure rate.
That pressure rate was well above where he has been in his career and was likely a function of limited snaps, but he is still a quality option.
Ed Oliver played the most snaps among this group, finishing with 9.5 sacks and a 14.5% pressure rate.
He ranked 14th among defensive tackles in ESPN’s pass rush win rate and 5th in run stop win rate.
Austin Johnson and DeShawn Williams were added in free agency.
Neither is particularly exciting even as rotational options, and both will be free agents after the season.
The Bills could use some depth here with an eye toward the future.
EDGE Depth Chart, Bills:
- Greg Rousseau
- A.J. Epenesa
- Von Miller
- Casey Toohill
- Kingsley Jonathan
- Kameron Cline
Buffalo finished 10th in pressure rate and logged 54 sacks (4th) last season.
Leonard Floyd, who accounted for a team-high 10.5 of those sacks, left in free agency.
The Bills decided to bring back A.J. Epenesa, who finished with 6.5 sacks on a 13.9% pressure rate.
That pressure rate was actually a step forward from him, and he now has 6.5 sacks in back-to-back seasons.
Though he finished with 5 sacks, Greg Rousseau may have been Buffalo’s best option at the position last year.
His 15.8% pressure rate ranked 20th among eligible pass rushers, and he recorded 12 run stuffs.
The Bills are expected to pick up his fifth-year option for 2025.
Von Miller agreed to a pay cut to stay with the team this offseason. He is the wild card in this group.
Miller played just 258 snaps across 12 games after opening the season on the PUP list.
He did not record a sack and had a bottom-tier 7.9% pressure rate in those snaps, but his knee was clearly an issue all season.
Heading into his age-35 season, it is fair to wonder if Miller will ever get back to his pre-injury form, but it has to be noted he had a very good 15.7% pressure rate in 2022.
Miller returning healthy would be a big boost to this defense.
New addition Casey Toohill did have 5 sacks a season ago, but his 5.4% pressure rate suggests that number is a little fluky.
Given the other needs they have on the roster, the Bills might just have to bet on Miller being an impact rotational rusher, but this unit could use some help.
Linebacker Depth Chart, Bills:
- Matt Milano
- Terrel Bernard
- Nicholas Morrow
- Dorian Williams
- Baylon Spector
Buffalo’s defense took a big hit when Matt Milano was lost for the season after just five games.
While originally reported as a knee injury, Milano later said he suffered a broken right tibia.
That is certainly a serious injury, but he should be ready for Week 1.
A 2022 third-round pick, Terrel Bernard led the unit with Milano sidelined, finishing just shy of 1,000 snaps.
Bernard recorded a tackle on 22.3% of his run defense snaps, finishing second on the team with 14 run stuffs, but did not show as well in coverage despite 3 interceptions.
He did help out in the passing game as a rusher, however, finishing with 6.5 sacks.
With Tyrel Dodson leaving in free agency, the Bills brought in Nicholas Morrow.
Morrow also did not shine in coverage last season, but he finished with 13 run stuffs for the Eagles.
He is a very good third option and some insurance in case Milano is not quite back to full health at the start of the season.
The Bills might also be looking for more from Dorian Williams, a third-round pick last year who played 211 snaps as a rookie.
Cornerback Depth Chart, Bills:
- Christian Benford
- Rasul Douglas
- Taron Johnson
- Kaiir Elam
- Ja’Marcus Ingram
- Kyron Brown
The Bills allowed 6.7 yards per pass attempt (7th) and finished 5th in EPA per dropback last season.
Dane Jackson is gone, but the other top three snap takers are back.
Christian Benford took a big step forward in his second season, improving as the year progressed. He looks like a very good find in the sixth round.
Taron Johnson has played at least 825 snaps for the Bills each of the last four seasons including 955 last year.
He showed well on that work, allowing 6.4 yards per target playing primarily from the slot.
Acquired in a trade with the Packers at the deadline, Rasul Douglas settled in well with his new team, equaling Johnson with 6.4 yards per target allowed in coverage.
Former first-round pick Kaiir Elam appeared in just three games with many of those healthy scratches.
He does not appear to be in Buffalo’s future plans, Douglas is headed into a contract year, and the Bills do not have much depth here.
Safety Depth Chart, Bills:
- Taylor Rapp
- Mike Edwards
- Cam Lewis
- Damar Hamlin
- Kendall Williamson
Jordan Poyer and Micah Hyde are both gone, forcing a reset at this position.
Taylor Rapp was retained on a relatively inexpensive three-year deal that does not include any guaranteed money after this season.
Rapp did not really impress on limited snaps last season, but he could get a shot to start given the rest of the position.
Buffalo did bring in Mike Edwards, who played 621 snaps for the Chiefs last season.
Edwards has never really been an above-average option despite getting consistent playing time throughout his career.
Cam Lewis is a versatile player who can play safety or in the slot and help out on special teams, but he has yet to have a major role on defense.
He was re-signed this offseason to a two-year deal that is essentially at the league minimum.
Damar Hamlin returning was obviously a great story, but he spent most of the season on the sidelines.
This group could arguably use two starting-level additions.
Pre Order the Best Analytical 2024 Football Preview
Don’t miss out on Warren Sharp’s 500+ page preview of the 2024 NFL season.
The preview is unlike anything you have ever seen, featuring stunning visualizations built with the reader in mind.
This preview shares insights into players, coaches, teams, and philosophies with one goal in mind: to prepare you for the 2024 NFL season by delivering the smartest information in the fastest, most direct way possible.
