The Buffalo Bills don't have too much to complain about amid a 5-1 start to the season. It's clear that this is a team that's good enough to compete for a Super Bowl.
What should have Bills Mafia even more excited is that there are a few key players who haven't been making much of an impact. Players like Josh Allen and James Cook have been excellent this season, but if the Bills can get more contributions from some other players, it's hard to see how many teams are going to beat them. We're going to break down the three players who are primed to make a bigger impact after the bye week.
3 players fans should be having high expectations about after bye week
Maxwell Hairston
While the Bills have been winning, their putrid pass defense has been a major talking point. The defense is giving up the second-most passing yards in the NFL right now. The cornerback play hasn't been particularly strong.
When the Bills made Maxwell Hairston a first-round pick last year, the hope was that he could be a ballhawk. He had five interceptions in 2023 at Kentucky. So far in his NFL career, Hairston has only two interceptions and none this year. He also has a Pro Football Focus grade of 40 right now.
He's still a young player with elite athleticism. He could come out of the bye week with a better grasp of the defense, which may be what he needs to start making better plays with the ball.
TJ Parker
The Bills selected pass rusher T.J. Parker with the 35th pick in the 2026 NFL Draft. He hasn't worked his way into the starting lineup yet, which has led to him only recording 0.5 sacks. Greg Rousseau has been on a tear to start the season, but Bradley Chubb only has 1.5 sacks.
If Chubb isn't getting after the passer, Parker could start getting on the field in more passing situations. At Clemson, he had 21.5 sacks in three seasons. The NFL is obviously a different beast, but he has pass rushing talent. He stands out as a player who could have a big second half of the season as long as he's on the field.
DJ Moore
The most notable addition the Bills made in the offseason was trading for wide receiver DJ Moore. He's only been able to play in four games due to injury. In those four games, he has just 12 catches for 178 yards and one touchdown.
The offense has been fine, but if he can play as he did during his Carolina Panthers days, nobody will be able to stop the Bills. Moore did look really good in Week 1, so there's a good chance that the shoulder injury has really slowed him down.
The bye week gives him an extra week to get right, so barring a setback, there's a good chance he'll be back in Week 8 against the Baltimore Ravens.
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