Why Bills' 2024 offensive personnel is the best of QB Josh Allen's career

Despite offseason questions suggesting the contrary, the Buffalo Bills' 2024 offense may be their most skilled unit in years.

Nico Salimbene | Nov 7, 2024

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After the Buffalo Bills traded away perennial Pro Bowl wide receiver Stefon Diggs in April, many pundits, both local and national, chalked the 2024 season up as a rebuilding one for Buffalo. Between the Diggs trade and the departures of multi-year starters Mitch Morse and Gabe Davis, it would be completely understandable to have low expectations for the four-time consecutive AFC East champions. Hefty contracts caught up to the team, once-foundational players aged, and Buffalo hired then-interim offensive coordinator Joe Brady to the full-time role. Before training camp, the only wide receiver in the room to have caught a pass from Josh Allen was Khalil Shakir.

The Bills' purported demise coincided with the apparent strengthening of the division. The Aaron Rodgers-led New York Jets had division champion aspirations, as did the Miami Dolphins, backed by their lightning-quick offense and offensive guru of a head coach. Before the season began, some sportsbooks favored those clubs over Buffalo to win the division. In retrospect, how silly. Fast forward to today; the Jets -- or Aaron Rodgers -- fired head coach Robert Saleh and are sitting at 3-6 while the Dolphins saw their dreams die via the leg of Tyler Bass last week, falling to 2-6. The Bills, winning all three of their divisional games thus far, are in the driver's seat once again -- Buffalo is 7-2, its best start since 2020, and a lot of that is thanks to Allen's offense.

For the first time in his career, Allen has a complete offense around him -- an offensive line that has been performing at a borderline elite level, a three-headed monster in the backfield, and a receiving room that has far exceeded expectations thus far, especially after the acquisition of Amari Cooper from the Cleveland Browns. Let's dive into each position grouping in order to get a better understanding of the Bills' offensive success through nine weeks this year:

Offensive Line

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There's so much to talk about regarding the overall success this unit has had so far this season. The unsung heroes of the Bills' 7-2 start, everything from play calling to personnel to individual player development and improvement contribute to how dominant this line has been. Starting with play calling, Bills' offensive coordinator Joe Brady's implementation of a sixth lineman has simplified defenses for Allen, forcing teams to play big up front. The teams that don't run the risk of getting stonewalled, allowing way too much time for the Bills' star signal caller to make a play. Per ESPN, the Bills, with a sixth lineman on the field, average a league-leading 6.8 yards per play. The success can't be attributed to play calling alone, however -- it takes the talent of your personnel to see the vision through. Despite the offseason changes to the offensive line, the unit has consistently been ranked among the league's best.

Going into this season, there was a point of emphasis on getting the run game more involved. It's been something head coach Sean McDermott has tried to implement since Josh Allen's arrival in Buffalo. Now, pair the offensive line success with the best running back group this team has had in the Allen era.

Running Backs

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The Bills have a good problem to have at the running back position. Everyone is good -- if not great -- at what they do. James Cook has started to blossom as an every-down back; his smooth running style paired with his speed has helped him average 4.6 yards per rush and tally 496 rushing yards, 170 receiving yards, and eight total touchdowns through nine games. Rookie Ray Davis has arrived -- since filling in for Cook in Week 6, Davis has amassed 318 all-purpose yards and two touchdowns. The former Kentucky Wildcat has become the perfect complement to the Bills' lead back, the thunder to Cook's lightning. Even third-string back Ty Johnson has been involved, becoming an exciting change-of-pace wrinkle for Brady's playbook. Gone are the days of relying on Allen's legs to be the primary rushing threat. Buffalo can now comfortably spell in designed Allen runs without the offense becoming predictable while also keeping the franchise quarterback upright in the process.

Wide Receivers

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The Buffalo receiver room experienced the most offseason change on the offensive side of the ball. With Khalil Shakir being the only returning receiver to catch a pass from Allen, there were a lot of unknowns with this unit. In the offseason, Buffalo added Curtis Samuel, Mack Hollins, and Marquez Valdez-Scantling via free agency and drafted Keon Coleman 33rd overall. Since then, Valdez-Scantling has been released and the Bills acquired Amari Cooper via trade.

After the team traded for Cooper, the full potential of the unit was revealed. While the former Browns receiver hasn't yet put up the numbers many were hoping for, his presence on the field has been enough to open things up for the rest of the unit. Coleman tallied 216 receiving yards in the last three weeks and has three touchdowns on the year. Hollins is now able to flourish as a situational player, and Shakir continues to be a revelation for Buffalo.

It's Shakir who has had the most success in the room this year; he already hit a career-high receptions number with 42 catches on 45 targets, good for a whopping 93% catch rate -- that's best in the NFL among receivers by 12(!) percentage points. Shakir's hyper-efficiency has helped turn him into a YAC machine. He currently has 358 yards after catch, the highest among wide receivers and third most overall. Yards after catch was an area the Bills have historically struggled with, and they've finally found their answer in Shakir.

Highest single season catch rate by a WR since 1992 when targets first began being tracked (min. 40 targets)

1. 2024 Khalil Shakir (93.3%)
2. 2023 Khalil Shakir (86.7%)
— Ian Hartitz (@Ihartitz) November 6, 2024

At the start of the season, the Bills offense took on the "everybody eats" mentality, meaning not just one player gets a share of touches. For the first time in his career, Josh Allen has enough of a supporting cast to actually turn that mentality into results on the playing field. Every player is doing their 1/11th to see offensive success. As the adage goes, it takes a village to raise a child. For the Bills and their offense, it will take the village to raise a Lombardi Trophy -- and this is their best crack at it yet.

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