2024 NFL power rankings: Here’s what analysts think of Bills ahead of Week 1

The 53-man rosters are set, training camp is in the rearview mirror, and all preseason games have been played. The only thing left separating football fans from regular-season play is those sometimes agonizing weekend hours leading up to the first kickoff.

With the start of the NFL season, that means the return of NFL power rankings. Power Rankings often endeavor to endear a fan base with the author who hypes up their team or turns them into their biggest enemy.

We may have yet to complete a full first week of play, but let’s take a look at where some media outlets have placed the Buffalo Bills ahead of Week 1. Buffalo will look different on offense after losing Gabe Davis in free agency and trading Stefon Diggs — who made it clear recently that he’s the one who wanted out or to, in his words, “shake things up.” That means hopefully a big season for second-year tight end Dalton Kincaid and for Khalil Shakir who picked up the slack at the end of last season while Diggs was mailing it in on the box score.

On the other side of the ball the safety position will look a completely different for Buffalo as Micah Hyde is still contemplating retirement and could still technically sign elsewhere, while Jordan Poyer chose to sign with the Miami Dolphins in free agency. On Wednesday head coach Sean McDermott announced that Damar Hamlin earned one of the starting safety spots, thus completing his journey after a traumatic cardiac arrest two seasons ago.

With that, let’s dive into the latest power rankings to see where national outlets place the Bills to begin the 2024 NFL season.

NFL.com: 8

I’m fully prepared to take an early-season bath when the Bills face a tough stretch while they are breaking in quite a few new faces. It’s going to be a process, even with robo-QB Josh Allen capable of offsetting some shortcomings. I’ve seen a lot of handwringing about the losses of wide receivers Stefon Diggs and Gabe Davis, though I’m personally more worried about replacing guys such as linebacker Matt Milano (for now?) and center Mitch Morse. But once Buffalo solves those internal questions, I still think Allen and a decent core of talent will emerge from the gauntlet and remain a postseason threat. It’s very hard to argue the Bills are a better team on paper right now than the group they ran out last season, but that doesn’t mean they can’t be superior by season’s end. — Eric Edholm

PFF: 4

Projected Wins: 9.7 Outside of quarterback Josh Allen, the Bills’ biggest strength is cornerback, with Christian Benford, Rasul Douglas and Taron Johnson generating top 20 PFF overall grades at the position last year. Their biggest weakness is at wide receiver, having lost Gabe Davis and Stefon Diggs in the offseason, leaving them with a depleted receiving corps. Rookie Keon Coleman, a second-round pick from Florida State, is an X-factor for 2024, with the potential to become the team’s No. 1 receiver. Despite having Allen at quarterback, the team’s roster took a significant hit due to cap casualties, making it uncertain whether they can maintain their dominance in the AFC East, with the Dolphins and Jets posing a threat. — John Kosko

CBS: 4

You can count them out if you want, but I won’t. Brandon Beane has done a nice job retooling this team. They have a nice mix of young and old. Oh, and Josh Allen. — Pete Prisco

Bleacher Report: 9

The Buffalo Bills have owned the AFC East in recent years with four straight division titles. But the team has made just one AFC title game over that span, and three of those postseason runs have been ended by Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs. Now the team is coming off an offseason that was...let’s go with bumpy. Buffalo’s top two receivers from last year (Gabe Davis and Stefon Diggs) are gone, replaced by the likes of veteran Curtis Samuel and rookie Keon Coleman. After years holding down the back of the Buffalo defense, veteran safeties Micah Hyde and Jordan Poyer are also elsewhere. Linebacker Matt Milano is potentially out for the season after tearing his biceps. While speaking to reporters, Bills head coach Sean McDermott said that while those personnel losses sting, the team feels it has players on the roster willing to step up and fill the void. “You never replace people like [Diggs], players like that. No two players or people are the same,” McDermott said. “It’s an opportunity for people to take on new roles, to stretch themselves a little bit. To hold people accountable for somebody else. I think a big piece of this is, you don’t just hire leaders or bring in leaders. You’re developing leaders the whole time.” Any team led by Josh Allen is going to be a tough out. But in a loaded AFC, Davenport wonders if the Bills lost one player too many this offseason. “Don’t get me wrong,” he said. “The Bills are still obviously a playoff contender and may well still be the class of the AFC East. But the Chiefs added wide receiver talent in the offseason. The Baltimore Ravens added a potential nightmare for opposing defenses in running back Derrick Henry. And the Bills added—not a lot.” “Frankly, losing the likes of Poyer and Milano on defense could be even bigger hits,” Davenport continued. “Both are longtime leaders on that side of the ball—guys who made sure people are where they are supposed to be and rally the troops when things aren’t going ideally. The gap between the Chiefs and Bills looks to have widened. The gap between the Bills, Dolphins and Jets has narrowed. Neither is good news in Western New York.” — BR Staff

ESPN: 7

Who’s on the hot seat: Coach Sean McDermott This isn’t about job security, instead it’s the challenge McDermott has on his hands in a different way this season. After winning the division the past four seasons, the Bills transitioned this offseason, reshaping a variety of areas. McDermott is entering 2024 with two new full-time coordinators, and many young players, while also dealing with quarterback Josh Allen being in the seventh year of his career and having only one AFC Championship Game appearance. On top of that, injuries are already in the mix on defense, notably with linebacker Matt Milano, but the coach has found success despite injuries in the past. The balance for the Bills of having success while also building for future years with Allen and guiding a changed roster is a unique challenge. — Alaina Getzenberg

Fox Sports: 9

Training camp didn’t do much to change my opinion that the Bills will be fine. They even lost Matt Milano this summer, and I still trust them to figure it out. A big part of that is having Josh Allen under center. Allen needs to be great, and he needs one or two of his young skill players to step up. I trust all that to happen. — David Helman

Yahoo Sports: 7

Linebacker Matt Milano was put on injured reserve with a torn biceps, but was designated to return. That means the Bills have hope that one of their best defensive players might return before the end of the season. — Justin Leger

PFT: 8

Josh Allen seems to be more determined than ever to get the Bills where they want to go.

The Athletic: 8

Preseason vibes: Clyde Drexler’s Trail Blazers Buffalo has arguably the second-best player in the NFL in quarterback Josh Allen. The Bills have won double-digit games in five straight seasons, but they keep banging their head on the Patrick Mahomes Ceiling (Mahomes is Michael Jordan in our analogy here, if that wasn’t clear). Buffalo has lost five playoff games by an average of 8.6 points in the last five years. Three of those came against the Chiefs and two were by less than a touchdown. The Bills’ window may be closing because of salary-cap cuts (and another serious Matt Milano injury), but it’s still open because of Allen. — Josh Kendall

Sports Illustrated: 7

Josh Allen MVP season incoming? I don’t know if the Bills offense will be beautiful as it sorts through the loss of Stefon Diggs and, very generally, the challenge of getting people open in new and different ways. But I think this could be Allen’s defining season in that, if healthy, so much weight will be on his shoulders and he could spend the year dragging people on his back to the end zone. I’m on the record as saying we’ll see new receiver stars emerge in Buffalo such as Khalil Shakir. If James Cook gets going, the Bills can roll to an AFC East title. — Conor Orr

USA Today: 13

Though the spotlight has been focused on WR Stefon Diggs’ exit, there’s been so much roster churn – on both sides of the ball – since the perennial AFC East champs’ heartbreaking playoff loss to Kansas City. And to then lose All-Pro LB Matt Milano (biceps) for another extended stretch? The Mafia should expect a hit job to their recent aspirations. — Nate Davis

New York Post: 10

The Super Bowl window won’t close as long as Josh Allen is in his prime, but more than ever rests on the quarterback. The salary cap caught up to the Bills, who lost their top two receivers (Diggs and Gabe Davis) and top three defensive backs (Micah Hyde, Jordan Poyer and Tre’Davious White). Linebacker Matt Milano’s long-term injury won’t help, either. — Ryan Dunleavy

The 33rd Team: 7

Previous Ranking: 5 It was a rough training camp and preseason for the Buffalo Bills, as they are already banged up going into the 2024 season. Pro Bowl LB Matt Milano will miss most of the year with a torn bicep, and there are multiple players in the secondary who are in jeopardy of missing Week 1. Buffalo has a really tough schedule this year, but look for Josh Allen to find a way to post double-digit wins again. — Marcus Mosher

The Ringer: 6

You’ll have to click through to the link to read Diante Lee’s comments about this year’s Bills team.

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