ClutchPoints
As the Buffalo Bills’ 2024 season ended following a 32-29 loss in the AFC Championship Game to the Kansas City Chiefs, it’s time for them to prepare for their run next year. The Bills are in a weird spot, where they have a superstar in Josh Allen — surrounded by scattered pieces throughout the roster — but they aren’t among the most well-built teams in the NFL. The Bills’ fatal flaw was exposed against the Chiefs — again — so they must attack the 2025 NFL free agency with aggressiveness in mind when deciding which targets they want to acquire.
The NFL free agency pool in 2025 isn’t extraordinary, but some targets could pique the Bills’ interest after their disappointing playoff exit.
When dissecting what went wrong for the Bills in 2024, there are three major buckets.
The first bucket: One of the major reasons why Buffalo floundered in the AFC Championship Game was their lack of pass rush. Mahomes — while impressive no matter the pressure in his face — was sacked just twice all game. While the Bills’ interior defensive line is strong with Ed Oliver and DaQuan Jones, their edge rushers were lacking. Von Miller is aging, while Greg Rousseau and AJ Epenesa might not be in the elite category just yet.
The second bucket: The Bills’ weapons weren’t elite. Aside from James Cook — who had an incredible 2024 season, causing his future contract to skyrocket — there aren’t too many elite weapons. Sure, Amari Cooper was a nice addition to their team, but it wasn’t until far too late in the season for a connection to form between him and Allen. Along with Allen, Cook, and Cooper, the Bills had an offense full of young talent. A veteran free-agent receiver would be perfect for a team like the Bills.
The third bucket: While their secondary isn’t bad by any means, it could also use a missing piece to make it more effective against quarterbacks like Mahomes, Lamar Jackson, Joe Burrow, and other talented passers in the AFC. If the Bills ever want to win a Super Bowl, their path to getting there is loaded to the gills with quarterback talent. So, to counter-balance that, the two things that affect elite passers are pressure and sticky coverage.
So, with the Bills’ needs dissected a bit, here are the top NFL free agents the Bills should target in 2025.
Although their Von Miller experiment hasn’t worked out quite as well as the Bills would’ve liked, that shouldn’t stop them from targeting Khalil Mack in free agency.
It’s not completely certain whether the Los Angeles Chargers are set on bringing Mack back, but with his contract expiring, he may hit the open market this offseason.
Well, that’s if Mack decides not to retire.
But, if he stays active and doesn’t return to the Chargers, the Bills should be all over bringing Mack back to Buffalo.
To reiterate, this...
