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Do the Bills have national writers and analysts exactly where they want them?
The Buffalo Bills hit the football fields of St. John Fisher College earlier this week as training camp once again got underway. NFL football is almost officially back, with preseason games around the corner.
Though teams have yet to play any real football, that doesn’t preclude outlets from compiling NFL power rankings. Recently, The Athletic revealed a pre-training camp NFL power rankings that saw the Bills land in an interesting spot.
The Buffalo Bills come in at number nine on The Athletic’s list:
9. Buffalo Bills
Last season: 11-6, lost in AFC divisional round
Only the Chiefs have a longer active streak of double-digit-win seasons than the Bills’ five. Whether Buffalo can continue that streak is one of the league’s most interesting questions. It lost Diggs, Jordan Poyer, Tre’Davious White, Mitch Morse, Tyrel Dodson and Leonard Floyd in the offseason. That means more of the load falls on quarterback Josh Allen, who already carries plenty for the Bills. In the last five seasons, no player has averaged more fantasy points per game, according to TruMedia. It’s not an exact match for on-field value, but it’s a pretty good indicator.
It seems that people continue to heavily weigh the Bills losing the likes of Stefon Diggs, Jordan Poyer, Tre’Davious White, and others. These are valid reasons because Buffalo currently faces questions about what kind of productivity they’ll receive from their new core of wide receivers and a near-complete overhaul at safety that will feature two new players starting no matter who wins the battles.
Perhaps what’s most surprising are some of the teams ranked ahead of the Bills.
- Kansas City Chiefs
- San Francisco 49ers
- Detroit Lions
- Houston Texans
- Baltimore Ravens
- Cleveland Browns
- Dallas Cowboys
- Green Bay Packers
Sure, the Green Bay Packers had an impressive season in 2023, but they’ll need to prove capable of doing it again, and in what should be a very difficult NFC North (which features the third-ranked Detroit Lions). The Dallas Cowboys have multiple contract issues to sort out first before even thinking about all that comes with a top-10 ranking. Wide receiver CeeDee Lamb is holding out of training camp, seeking a new contract. Edge rusher Micah Parsons could end up doing the same thing as he looks to land a new deal.
Interestingly, the Cleveland Browns land at number six — a team with too many on-field questions surrounding quarterback Deshaun Watson. After securing a huge contract from the Browns despite off-field issues, Watson has yet to resemble anyone close to the player he was with the Houston Texans. Additionally, there’s no guarantee running back Nick Chubb will be his normal self as he returns from a nasty knee injury a season ago.
As with the Packers and Lions, there are two teams from the AFC North who land in this top-10 list. Is it possible four teams from two divisions see such a lucky outcome in 2024? Yes, but often you’ll find the best teams within a division beating up on one another. That impacts overall success and, of course, W-L records.
The top five are less controversial, perhaps. However, would you rank the Bills ahead of any teams in that group — if not, where do you place Buffalo among their NFL competition?