Matt Johnson
The Buffalo Bills parted ways with head coach Sean McDermott this offseason after seven consecutive seasons with double-digit wins. While expectations clearly haven’t been met for the organization, it appears some in the league believe things won’t get better anytime soon.
Speaking to Mike Sando of The Athletic, one NFL executive shared his belief that the Bills’ window as Super Bowl contenders in the AFC has closed. That’s even with regression expected from the New England Patriots and the AFC seemingly being “down” right now.
“I think Buffalo’s window has closed.”
Anonymous NFL executive on the Buffalo Bills entering the 2026 season
Related: 2026 NFL Power Rankings, See Where Bills Land
In 2025, Buffalo finished tied for the fourth-most wins in the AFC and then made it all the way to the Divisional Round only to lose in overtime. That prompted the firing of head coach Sean McDermott, with general manager Brandon Beane promoted to president of football operations and offensive coordinator Joe Brady named head coach.
The Bills front office responded to that disappointment in 2025 by adding safety Geno Stone, nickel C.J. Gardner-Johnson and edge rusher Bradley Chubb to strengthen the defense. Just as important, Buffalo traded for wide receiver D.J. Moore to provide Allen with an impact offensive weapon.
It’s reasonable to assume that the Kansas City Chiefs will rebound in 2026 the the return of Patrick Mahomes and the signing of Kenneth Walker. Elsewhere in the AFC, the Baltimore Ravens and Cincinnati Bengals look better on paper heading into next season.
One reason why some around the league might be skeptical of the Bills’ outlook might have something to do with the team’s draft class. Beane traded down twice in Round 1 and, in a class that was viewed as unusually weak, some question if the team took the right approach.
NFL Execs Skeptical on Buffalo Bills Draft Strategy
Another executive questioned the Bills’ strategy in the 2026 NFL Draft. While president of football operations Brandon Beane received plenty of praise from analysts for trading down multiple times, an analytics-approved strategy, some around the league weren’t as keen because of this specific draft.
“Those picks you gain, whether it’s a third or fourth or something later, they were not going to net you any (good) players in this draft,” one exec said.”
NFL executive ot The Athletic on the Buffalo Bills draft class, trading down
That wasn’t the lone opinion that expressed skepticism if now was the right year to trade down multiple times and collect a lot of Day 3 draft capital. Another NFL executive told Sando that this was a “weird draft” because this class was “terrible at the top and terrible at the bottom.”
Related: Best 2026 NFL Draft Classes, including Buffalo Bills
However, as some of Beane’s peers in front offices around the league pointed out, a weak 2026 NFL Draft class really made it so there was no “right” strategy to take. Beane positioning himself to take multiple swings might prove to be the best approach because it at least gives him a chance to take more swings on different players who could pan out.
