The Buffalo Bills are a team with incredible star power, but only in a few select spots. After all, Josh Allen won the MVP with his leading receiver barely cracking 800 yards on the year, his leading touchdown receiver hauling in only 5 total scores on only 31 catches, and his leading rusher averaging only 12.9 rush attempts per game. Though the 2024 Buffalo Bills offense was statistically unimpressive on an individual level, it highlights the importance of underrated, non-star players. After all, Buffalo's lone All-Pro player for 2024 was Josh Allen, with a second-team nod.
We know Josh Allen is exceptional, but it's the underrated contributions of those inconspicuous individuals that made the team greater around him. Last year, they were Khalil Shakir, Mack Hollins, and James Cook. Now, two are stars in their own right and one is on another team entirely. A fresh batch of those relatively-innocuous athletes will be needed to blow our socks off in 2025; these are those 4 players.
4 Bills who will make a big impact in 2025
RB Ray Davis
Amongst other things, Ray Davis was a flashy rookie who set expectations and then failed to keep delivering. All-in-all, he ran for 442 yards on his 113 attempts, averaging 3.9 yards per carry and running in three touchdowns. But he also caught 17 of his 19 targets, racking up 189 yards receiving and another three scores.
With the overwhelming expectations of rookies, particularly running backs, to become stars immediately, a lot of fans were disappointed in Ray Davis. It's an unfair stance, imbalanced, devoid of nuance. It's also understandable. Football is an emotional game, and we remember the great moments almost as well as the bad ones.
Still, Ray Davis was a notable contributor. His playstyle was well-suited to the need the Buffalo Bills had, and he gave the team a lot to work with. With the status of James Cook's contract holding the future of the position in limbo, Ray Davis is the natural successor. The Buffalo Bills had arguably the best offensive line unit of their modern era in 2024, and retain not the just the starting personnel but also the coaching for 2025. As Buffalo transitions out of the James cook era, Ray Davis can expect a heavier snap count.
His hands were proven to be a great boon last season, and his ability to run with force opens lanes that less-violent running backs couldn't handle. The pressure of pass-blocking falls to the returning Ty Johnson, leaving Ray Davis to excel in his expanding role. Davis was an unexpected hero at times in 2024, and a forgettable role-player at others. In 2025, expect much more of the former.
S Cole Bishop
The Bills' safety room is still a weaker spot on the roster. It's established fact they this personnel group was a flaw in Buffalo's above-average defense. This season, Cole Bishop has the chance to move into a greater role.
Much like the Ray Davis-es of yester-paragraph, there is plenty of meat on the bone here for a second-year player to step up. When Buffalo selected Bishop in the second round of the 2024 NFL Draft, he was a work-on-progress. It showed in his play-time, where Cole took under a third of the team's snaps at safety despite injuries and general sub-par play from some of the players ahead of him.
Still, in re-signing Damar Hamlin, the Buffalo Bills did not commit to him as a starter, but as a body. If Hamlin had been the starter the Bills dreamed of, they wouldn't have let him hit market for a full week before signing him to his one-year, $2m contract. Based on their moves around the roster, the clear starters are Taylor Rapp and Cole Bishop. Growing pains are only that if they produce growth, and it will be seen in Bishop as he ascends to a full-time position.
WR Josh Palmer
The biggest question-mark on this list, to be certain. It is always difficult to judge new acquisitions before we even see them in preseason, let alone a real game. Still, we must do this honestly. The Bills receiver room needed a player who could emulate the performances they received from Mack Hollins in 2024, and they found him in Josh Palmer.
Palmer is a physically imposing player with the ability to stretch the field, proven by his 15 yards per reception last season, tying D.K. Metcalf for 11th-highest. Able to both block the interior and open gaps for ball-carriers, as well as make the big play downfield, Palmer is a necessary addition.
Like the beloved Mack Hollins, Palmer will be a statistical non-factor in some of his most important moments for the Bills, defining his underrated status. Buffalo paid him not only for his receiving ability, but his integral performance off the stat-sheet as a critical blocker.
LB Dorian Williams
As much as it hurts to say it, Matt Milano will soon no longer be a member of the Buffalo Bills. His adjusted contract makes him a sudden free agent after the 2025 season, and there's a clear option to fill his spot whenever he leaves the field this season.
In 2024, Dorian Williams was exceptional for a time. After five weeks of NFL football, he led the league in tackles. It was a performance he kept up for much of the year, leading the team in tackles though the end of the season despite his dwindling snap count. His remarkable consistency didn't make headlines, and it never got the credit it deserved.
Now, Milano will be playing on a lower snap-count as he seeks a new contract; Dorian Williams fills those shoes to the best of his abilities. He proved to have a nose for the ball and a willingness to confront ball-carriers with solid technique and enthusiastic dedication. He will be a plus-starter in 2025.