As the Buffalo Bills finalized their 53-man roster on Sunday, along with the 31 other clubs in the NFL, they had some tough decisions to make. While this time of year is usually the hardest on the NFL calendar, general manager Brandon Beane once again believes he put together a championship-caliber 53-man roster for the Bills' 2026 season.
The majority of his moves were planned and expected, but a few will surprise Bills Mafia if the roster doesn't change going forward. Let's take a look at three of Beane's decisions that may surprise everyone.
Three roster surprises that team made
1.) Lack of depth at cornerback
While the cornerback talent on the Bills' depth chart looks solid for starting reps, there aren't that many options for the Bills to pick off the bench if needed. Right now, their three right cornerbacks include starter, Christian Benford followed by Dee Alford and Jordan Hancock. And their left corners include starter Maxwell Hairston and Davison Igbinosun.
But from whom and where else shall that depth be coming from? In a passing league like the NFL, you need cornerback depth, and the Bills have been preaching that they finally need it to get over the hump in the playoffs.
At least they do have versatility and depth in the slot/nickel room, including Alford and Hancock, but that leaves C.J. Gardner-Johnson slotted into the hybrid corner/safety flex.
Overall, if the Bills roll with this shallow room at cornerback, it will be a lot harder to convince fans that this defense will finally show up in the playoffs if injuries occur.
2.) Five wide receivers
While it may surprise Bills Mafia that they kept only five receivers out of the plethora of receivers they had in training camp and the preseason, at least the five they chose are all quality talents and bring different elements to the position.
D.J. Moore is the projected No. 1 outside receiver, as he and quarterback Josh Allen displayed instant chemistry throughout camp and during Game 1 of the preseason. As expected, Khalil Shakir returns to the starting slot and No. 2 outside wideout spot during big receiver sets.
Keon Coleman returns as the No. 3 and starting boundary receiver, as this may be the role that best fits him heading into a critical third year in the NFL. Then, rounding out the last two spots are veteran Joshua Palmer at the main rotation spot, and rookie Skyler Bell closes it out at the final receiver, poised to make some noise as the season progresses after a strong outing in the preseason.
This room looks solid, but they could really use a sixth option, particularly a player who can return kicks and punts.
3.) Four tight ends
Perhaps the biggest surprise of all the Bills' 53-man roster moves was the decision to forgo a traditional fullback and continue to go big by keeping four active tight ends to start the season. The Bills already boast one of the best tight end trios in the NFL with Dalton Kincaid, Dawson Knox, and Jackson Hawes.
But let's give a huge congrats to fourth tight end Keleki Latu for cracking the 53-man roster after starting opening weekend last year on the practice squad.
Kincaid is looking to finally get over 1,000 receiving yards in his fourth season in the league, and looking to get back to his rookie year production where he had 73 catches in 2023. Knox is the team's helper and actually led the team in receiving yards last year, while also showing stellar blocking.
Second-year tight end Hawes is your throwback hard-blocking tight end with underrated catching ability and started the trend of blocking tight ends going earlier in the 2026 draft. As for Latu, he started last season on the practice squad as an afterthought, but once he made the active roster, he played well enough for Beane to gamble and keep him as the fourth tight end on the roster.
With no traditional fullback this year, that means the Bills are counting on Hawes to be able to fill that role when he's not lining up as the third tight end, but this allows the Bills to open up the playbook with more 12 (1 RB, 2 TE or 13 personnel (1 RB, 3 TE), or the ever so rarely used 14 personnel (1 RB, 4 TE).
Therefore, head coach Joe Brady and offensive coordinator Pete Carmichael Jr. will have fun going into their deep bag of play calls by keeping four tight ends on the roster.
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