In the fourth of a 32-part series, we are featuring all National Football League teams with a prediction of where each team will finish within their division, key off-season acquisitions and their top fantasy stars. Here are the Buffalo Bills.
Key Off-Season Acquisitions
The Bills have added four key players to the team via free agency–three on defense and one on offense. Buffalo has signed linebackers Joey Bosa and Michael Hoecht, defensive end Larry Ogunjobi, and wide receiver Josh Palmer. It should be noted that Hoecht and Ogunjobi are suspended six games each for taking a banned substance.
Bosa, a native of Miami, Florida has signed a one-year deal worth $12.6 million. The five-time Pro Bowl linebacker has spent his entire career with the Chargers organization and was the Defensive Rookie of the Year in 2016. In 2024, Bosa had 22 combined tackles (17 solo tackles and five assisted tackles), 13 quarterback hits, five sacks and two forced fumbles.
Palmer, a native of Toronto, Ontario has signed a three-year deal worth $29 million with the Buffalo Bills. He has spent the last four seasons with the Los Angeles Chargers. In 2024, he had 39 catches for 584 receiving yards and one touchdown catch, which came in a 27-10 Chargers win over the Cleveland Browns on November 3.
Hoecht, a native of Oakville, Ontario, signed a three year deal worth $21 million. He has spent the last four seasons with the Rams and won a Super Bowl with Los Angeles in 2022. This past season, Hoecht had 56 combined tackles (32 assisted tackles and 24 solo tackles), six quarterback hits, four tackles for a loss, three sacks and two pass deflections. The two pass deflections came in Rams wins. The first came on October 20 in a 20-15 Rams win over the Las Vegas Raiders. The second came on November 17 in a 28-22 Rams win over the New England Patriots.
Ogunjobi signed a one-year deal worth $6.7 million on March 12. The native of Livingston, New Jersey is joining his fourth NFL team after four seasons with the Cleveland Browns, one season with the Cincinnati Bengals and three seasons with the Pittsburgh Steelers. In 2024, he had 41 combined tackles (25 assisted tackles and 16 solo tackles), seven quarterback hits, five tackles for a loss, and 1.5 sacks with the Steelers.
Fantasy Stars
Quarterback Josh Allen of Firebaugh, California was the fourth best quarterback in fantasy this past year and was the reigning NFL MVP. Allen completed 307 passes in 483 attempts for 3731 passing yards, 28 touchdowns and six interceptions. On the ground, he had 102 rushes for 531 rushing yards and 12 touchdowns.
Running back James Cook of Miami, Florida is ranked seventh at his position. He had 207 rushes for 1009 rushing yards and 16 rushing touchdowns, which led the NFL. Cook also had 32 catches for 258 receiving yards and two touchdown catches. The first touchdown catch was 17 yards from Allen in a 31-10 Bills win over the Dolphins on September 12, and the second touchdown catch was four yards from Allen in a 24-21 Bills win over the New England Patriots on December 22.
Defensively, the Bills are ranked 10th. The Bills defense is considered average as a whole, but due to the fact their offense is on the football field a lot makes their defense better.
Projected Finish
The Bills will win the AFC East and it will not be remotely close. Buffalo’s sights this season are on the Super Bowl.
