It’s the first Sunday of the NFL offseason and the countdown to next season has begun. The Buffalo Bills went out earlier than they wanted to when they fell short to the Kansas City Chiefs and failing to win the AFC championship for the second time since 2021. It’s to see what Brandon Beane can cook up for the Bills this offseason to help set the Bills up for another Super Bowl run in 2025.
Last year’s offseason was a rough one for the Bills. They had release many veterans due to salary cap issues and they weren’t able to make any huge splashes like Bills Mafia has become used to. While they are still faced with some tough financial decisions, it’s nothing compared to last offseason.
However, the biggest headline last offseason for the Bills was their draft journey and it wasn’t exactly too kind to them. Entering the 2024 NFL Draft, the Bills had the 28th pick in the first round. That was until they decided to trade that pick to the Kansas City Chiefs in exchange for picks No. 32, No. 95, and No. 221. The Bills also sent the Chiefs a 4th round and 7th round pick.
The Chiefs traded up and drafted Texas wideout Xavier Worthy which caused a lot of backlash on the Bills for allowing the Chiefs to get the speedy wideout. Then the Bills not only traded back with the Chiefs, they would then trade out of the 1st round from No. 32 to No. 33 which put the Carolina Panthers in the first round who drafted Xavier Legette out of South Carolina.
The Bills eventually made a draft decision and opted with Keon Coleman out of Florida State. While Coleman had shown that he can win contested catches, his horrible combine performance made him drop out of the first round. Buffalo ended up drafting ten players in 2024 and signing rookie Joe Andreessen as well as trading for rookie KR Brandon Codrington before the start of the season.
Despite a 13-4 record and AFC championship appearance, the Bills' 2024 rookie class was a heavy disappointment
Gennaro Filice from NFL.com ranked all the 2024 rookies for the 32 NFL teams and Filiace was not too kind to the Bills’ class. Buffalo was ranked third from the bottom of the list at No. 30. The Bills were only ahead of the Minnesota Vikings and Cleveland Browns.
Coleman was the main focus, obviously with being the first draft pick for the Bills. While Coleman showed flashes of being a solid wideout for Buffalo, he failed to show off his contested catch ability throughout the season and him suffering a wrist injury mid season held him back from being a contributor down the stretch and into the playoffs.
Cole Bishop suffered an early training camp injury that held him back from being a starter right off the bat, but then would eventually be the full-time starter come playoff time. Defensive tackle DeWayne Carter showed little signs of promise of being a great run-stopper, but he would then suffer a wrist injury that kept him sidelined and then he was a healthy scratch in the playoffs.
Rookie running back Ray Davis was arguably the best draft pick for the Bills in 2024. Davis rushed for 442 yards and 3 touchdowns, while adding on 189 receiving yards and 3 touchdowns. Davis’ breakout game took place on Monday Night Football in Week 6 against the Jets when he recorded 152 scrimmage yards. He also had three games of 10+ carries (and only one of those games where James Cook wasn’t playing).
The good news is that the Bills didn’t need their rookies a whole lot to have a successful season. At the same time, Filice is spot on by ranking the rookie class for Buffalo so low. It wasn’t Brandon Beane’s best draft class whatsoever, but it was one year. We will now wait and see what Beane can do in the 2025 NFL Draft that is set to take place this coming April up in Green Bay, Wisconsin.