This defense for the Buffalo Bills may look very different than it did last season. I’ll even go as far as saying that when we look back on this past offseason for the Bills, it could be the start of Buffalo turning their defense around for the better moving forward.
The main focus of Buffalo’s offseason was building up the defense to finally help Josh Allen in the playoffs. The Bills don’t have an issue putting points up on the board, but they have a lot of trouble stopping opponents. Beane recognized it and addressed it in free agency and the draft.
Under Sean McDermott and defensive coordinator Bobby Babich, the Bills have some work to do with their defense in hopes that they can get the ball back to Allen and not give up tons of points in the playoffs. Well, not only is that a goal, but McDermott may have just revealed a big time secret on how he plans on accomplishing it.
McDermott spoke with the media prior to minicamp beginning and according to Matthew Bove, McDermott said that the plan is to “play a lot of the young guys on defense.”
"We're going to play a lot of the young guys on defense." - Sean McDermott
— Matthew Bové (@Matt_Bove) June 10, 2025
Bills planning to play the young guys on defense is a bold approach
While it’s a bold approach for the Bills, it makes sense. Buffalo didn’t draft an offensive player until round five when they drafted blocking tight end Jackson Hawes. First, they drafted cornerback Maxwell Hairston in the first round and then they traded up twice to get defensive tackles T.J. Sanders and Deone Walker. They also drafted edge rusher Landon Jackson in the third round, too.
So, if what McDermott said does indeed become true, then Bills fans can expect to see a lot of Hairston, Sanders, Jackson, and Walker early on in the season. Now, Buffalo loves to rotate their players so it’s not like they will be on the field every single play. At the same time, the Bills are expecting big things from these players because of the way they got drafted to the team.
The good news for them is that they have veterans to learn from which is important for their development. The future of Buffalo’s defense could become sooner than later in 2025 and it could be an exciting time, or a nightmare depending on how they perform on the field.