If there were ever a season for Josh Allen to collect some individual accolades, it would be 2024. Despite odds makers in Las Vegas having Buffalo hovering around the fifth-best odds to win the Super Bowl, many are piling on the Bills to be a disappointment this season. The latest example is Fox Sports contributor and former NFL player Bucky Brooks declaring that the Buffalo Bills won’t even field a top-10 roster in 2024.
Brooks wrote a piece on his top-10 rosters, which included, in order, the San Francisco 49ers, Philadelphia Eagles, Kansas City Chiefs, Detroit Lions, Houston Texans, Baltimore Ravens, Miami Dolphins, New York Jets, Dallas Cowboys, and Cleveland Browns. Odd to not see Buffalo as a top-third squad when they are one of two franchises to win their division the last four years and one of two franchises to win a playoff game each of the previous four seasons. The other organization to achieve these marks is the Kansas City Chiefs.
So, how did Brooks come to this conclusion? He stated, “In separate discussions with those Super Bowl winners (Bill Polian and Ron Wolf), they frequently cited the need for elite talents at the premium positions to knock off the heavyweights around the league. Though the NFL has evolved over the past decade, the championship teams routinely feature A-plus talents at quarterback, offensive playmaker (running back, wide receiver, or tight end), offensive tackle, pass rusher (defensive end/outside linebacker or defensive tackle), off-ball linebacker and defensive back (safety or corner).”
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Brooks doesn’t define what he considers a “blue chip” prospect or “elite talent” but looking at other players on the list, I believe these are the Bills players to reach that level of expectations heading into 2024.
Quarterback Josh Allen is the obvious answer. He is coming off a season where he finished fifth in MVP voting and was graded the best offensive player by Pro Football Focus (PFF). Running back James Cook finished third in the NFL amongst rushers in scrimmage yards, 18 yards behind second place Breece Hall. Tight end Dalton Kincaid had a fantastic run in his final 13 games (playoffs included) when he rounded into shape as a rookie. If you take those 13 games and extrapolate them over a 17-game season, he would have racked up 84 catches, 901 yards, and five touchdowns. Finally, on offense, left tackle Dion Dawkins finished fourth in ESPN’s OT pass block win rate rankings.
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On defense, linebacker Matt Milano is one year removed from an All-Pro season and there is no reason to believe he couldn’t have done that again last year if not for a pesky injury. Cornerback Rasul Douglas is entering his second year (and first full season) with Buffalo. The trade deadline acquisition from Green Bay ended 2023 as PFF’s sixth-highest-graded corner. He finished second for corner picks with five and 14th in pass breakups. Cornerback Taron Johnson is arguably (and some would say definitively) the best slot corner in the NFL. Johnson earned second-team All-Pro in 2023 while finishing 11th in PFF’s defensive coverage of all corners and fourth in snaps per reception allowed from the slot.
Those seven players give the Bills more than Cleveland at the end of the top-10 list. Brooks also lists “wild cards” for each team. I believe the Bills have several guys who could be debated as blue chips, but certainly fit the wild card criteria. Those guys are Spencer Brown, Greg Rousseau, Ed Oliver, AJ Epenesa, and Terrell Bernard.
To put a bow on all of this. If the Bills truly do not have a top-ten roster in 2024, but still find the success Bills Mafia has come to enjoy, two things must be true: Allen deserves his first MVP award, and Sean McDermott must be moved higher in the NFL coach’s rankings.
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