Bills still ranked among NFL's elite offenses despite offseason moves

The Buffalo Bills' offense is still ranked among the league's best despite the offseason departures of wide receivers Stefon Diggs and Gabriel Davis.

Nov 13, 2023; Orchard Park, New York, USA; Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen (17) during the / Gregory Fisher-USA TODAY Sports

Brandon Beane’s offseason could perhaps be most succinctly (and accurately) encapsulated in one of those short, moderately funny “Yup, that’s me, and you’re probably wondering how I ended up here” memes.

His team, just a few months ago, was playing in its fifth consecutive postseason and was manned by stalwart starters in several spots. The Buffalo Bills employed not only one of the most experienced secondaries in the league, but also one of its premier pass-catchers. The team, on paper, was infallible; it was hard to find a discernible hole that couldn’t be attributed to injury, circumstance, or flat-out bad luck.

Fast forward to today, and, well…

“... you’re probably wondering how I ended up here.”

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Beane has overseen significant turnover throughout the 2024 offseason, recentering his team around youth in an attempt to reset its long-term on-field and financial clocks. Buffalo moved on from aforementioned elite wideout Stefon Diggs and fellow receiver Gabriel Davis in the spring, also losing Jordan Poyer, Tre’Davious White, Mitch Morse, Leonard Floyd, and (presumably) Micah Hyde. The Bills are now counting on youth at several positions both offensively and defensively, perhaps in no area more prominently than the receiving corps. Buffalo hopes that the combination of third-year contributor Khalil Shakir, free agent signee Curtis Samuel, and rookie Keon Coleman will be able to replicate the 1,929 combined receiving yards vacated by Diggs and Davis.

Changes aside, Buffalo’s offense still has talent throughout; last year’s stout offensive line is largely returning, as is breakout back James Cook, who finished sixth in the NFL in yards from scrimmage last year with 1,567. The unit is also manned by the great equalizer that is Josh Allen, the only player in NFL history who has totaled 40 or more touchdowns in four consecutive seasons.

The unit, though objectively not as talented as it was just a few months ago, is still strong; this sentiment is echoed by Bleacher Report’s Alex Ballentine, who recently listed the Bills’ offensive unit as the league’s eighth-best in an article ranking every offense in the NFL.

“There's an argument to be made that the Buffalo Bills should be lower,” Balleintine wrote. “After all, they traded Stefon Diggs and struggled down the stretch last season. “Those losses might be overblown, though . . . Even with Diggs fading last season, the Bills still finished third in EPA and sixth in scoring. Josh Allen remains an elite quarterback. Their strong running game and offensive line will pave the way for the Bills to push through any early-season struggles from the receivers.”

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Ballentine suggests that the team could improve by increasing its usage of 12 personnel (two tight end sets), citing that Buffalo finished fifth in Expected Points Added (EPA) when using those sets last season.

Only the Cincinnati Bengals, Baltimore Ravens, Philadelphia Eagles, Miami Dolphins, Detroit Lions, Kansas City Chiefs, and San Francisco 49ers—all objectively stellar offensive units—rank higher than the Bills.

Expecting Buffalo’s offense to replicate its 2023 production (it finished fourth in yards per game and sixth in total points) in the upcoming season may be a bit too optimistic given the turnover, but the unit will still be strong; that is, after all, the benefit of having one of the league’s premier players at the helm of your offense.