Buffalo Rumblings
Welcome to SB Nation Reacts, a survey of fans across the NFL. Throughout the year we ask questions of the most plugged-in Bills fans and fans across the country. Sign up here to participate in the weekly emailed surveys.
While it’s true that the Buffalo Bills are never fully idle, we have reached the quietest point of the year with regard to news based around the team’s roster. That doesn’t mean, however, the Bills are anywhere near set personnel-wise. To be certain, Bills Mafia has plenty to say about the current roster’s makeup, and where things could use some fine tuning even before anyone’s seen a more organized version of new head coach Joe Brady’s vision.
With our latest Reacts poll, we want to know what position group (among those outlined a bit later on below) remains your biggest concern ahead of training camp?
Most anyone looking to critique Buffalo’s roster is concerned about how things looked and unfolded the previous season. Doing so is made more difficult simply because of the new regime, and of course a defensive system set for overhaul after almost a decade in Sean McDermott’s disciplined 4-3 base alignment.
Perhaps the biggest question right now is how any of McDermott’s previous chess pieces who remain with the team fit into a 3-4 base system that prioritizes attacking opponents. Additionally, has president of football operations/general manager Brandon Beane done enough in adding the right kind of new talent to account for what new defensive coordinator Jim Leonhard plans to run?
So much remains unknown about the defense that it’s natural for fans to gravitate toward wanting to add “x, y, and/or z” to the group. In the 3-4 base, we’ll now see former defensive end/edge rushers line up at outside linebacker. Without getting into the weeds of in-depth positional football, Greg Rousseau and company will essentially be tasked with doing most of the things they handled before, but it may look different at first with them aligned as edge rushers positioned as outside linebackers.
Are you comfortable with the team’s EDGE group of:
Greg Rousseau
Bradley Chubb
Michael Hoecht
T.J. Parker (rookie)
Javon Solomon
Michael Danna
Andre Jones Jr.
Cade Denhoff
As for the inside linebackers, namely Terrel Bernard and Dorian Williams, the team will need more from both in 2026. Behind both sits a lot of inexperience, with the Bills’ linebacking room overall consisting of:
Terrel Bernard
Dorian Williams
Joe Andreessen
Keonta Jenkins
Jimmy Ciarlo
Theron Gains
Demetrius Flannigan-Fowles
At defensive tackle, where we could see Hoecht moonlight a bit, the group seems pretty stout. However, Beane and company seemed to avoid adding a bona fide three-tech space-eating D-tackle. That raised tons of alarms for fans, but One Bills Drive seems unaffected by such concerns. It would seem as though counting on Deone Walker to man that role is a stretch, given his move to shed weight and add lean muscle this offseason. He looks ready to expand on his role as a pass disruptor,...
