The Buffalo Bills have been AFC contenders in each of the previous four seasons, winning 47 games over that stretch. However, they’ve been unable to climb the mountain that is the Kansas City Chiefs in the postseason. Nevertheless, Buffalo will look to rectify that with slight changes in offensive and defensive philosophies and personnel changes heading into 2023. This Bills NFL season preview outlines the changes made from last season and offers an outlook on this upcoming season.

Everything You Need Ahead of the Buffalo Bills 2023 NFL Season

There weren’t many wholesale changes made to the Bills’ roster or coaching staff because, quite frankly, large moves were unnecessary for a team already on the precipice of competing for championships.

Buffalo Bills Roster Changes

• Players Signed
  • G Connor McGovern
  • S Jordan Poyer
  • WR Deonte Harty
  • DT Jordan Phillips
  • S Taylor Rapp
  • G David Edwards
  • WR Trent Sherfield
  • RB Damien Harris
  • T David Quessenberry
  • LB A.J. Klein
  • DE Shaq Lawson
  • DT Poona Ford
  • RB Latavius Murray
• Players Drafted
  • TE Dalton Kincaid
  • G O’Cyrus Torrence
  • LB Dorian Williams
  • WR Justin Shorter
  • G Nick Broeker
  • CB Alex Austin
• Players Lost
  • LB Tremaine Edmunds
  • QB Case Keenum
  • RB Devin Singletary
  • WR Isaiah McKenzie
  • S Jaquan Johnson
  • WR Jamison Crowder

Upgrading the interior offensive line appeared to be a consistent theme throughout the offseason. Buffalo added four guards to the roster from a season ago. Two of the interior blockers have extensive starting experience (McGovern and Edwards), while they used a second-round pick on a third (Torrence).

Bills fans wanted a weapon to take over in the slot, and while Buffalo took a different approach toward addressing that, fans should be happy that Kincaid fell into their laps late in the first round. Buffalo will almost certainly use him as a pseudo-receiver in 12-personnel groupings.

Still, the beauty with Kincaid is depending on how defensive coordinators attack the Bills’ personnel. Buffalo could find themselves in an advantageous position by bringing an undersized defensive back into the box, a place they’re almost certainly uncomfortable.

Adding Poona Ford to the defensive interior provides the Bills with a strong run-defending presence alongside DaQuan Jones, which the unit was searching for but couldn’t find in the NFL Draft.

Bringing back Jordan Poyer and adding Taylor Rapp offers a nice upgrade to the defensive backfield. Teams are utilizing three-safety sets more often as teams continue to spread the field to run the ball, and Rapp provides a body comfortable playing in the box and in the slot.

Buffalo Bills Coaching Staff

• Head Coach: Sean McDermott
• Offensive Coordinator: Ken Dorsey
  • QB Coach: Joe Brady
  • RB Coach: Kelly Skipper
  • WR Coach: Adam Henry
  • TE Coach: Rob Boras
  • OL Coach: Aaron Kromer
• Defensive Coordinator: Sean McDermott
  • DL Coach: Eric Washington
  • LB Coach: Bobby Babich
  • DB Coach: John Butler
  • S Coach: Joe Danna
• Special Teams Coordinator: Matthew Smiley

With Leslie Frasier taking a year off from coaching, McDermott — who has called plays before and has even done so while being the Bills’ head coach — will do so on a full-time basis in 2023. Buffalo ranked fourth in defensive DVOA a season ago and eighth in weighted DVOA. With a hopefully healthy Von Miller returning for a full season, that number could realistically improve from an already impressive spot.

Predicting the Buffalo Bills Depth Chart

Offensive Depth Chart

• QB: Josh Allen, Kyle Allen, Matt Barkley
• RB: James Cook, Damien Harris, Nyheim Hines, Latavius Murray
• WR: Stefon Diggs, Gabe Davis, Khalil Shakir, Trent Sherfield, Justin Shorter, Deonte Harty
• TE: Dawson Knox, Dalton Kincaid, Quintin Morris
• LT: Dion Dawkins, Tommy Doyle
• LG: Connor McGovern, David Edwards, Nick Broeker
• C: Mitch Morse
• RG: O’Cyrus Torrence, Ryan Bates
• RT: Spencer Brown, David Quessenberry

Defensive Depth Chart

• DT: DaQuan Jones, Ed Oliver, Poona Ford, Tim Settle, Jordan Phillips
• EDGE: Von Miller, Greg Rousseau, A.J. Epenesa, Shaq Lawson, Boogie Basham
• LB: Matt Milano, Terrel Bernard, Tyrel Dodson, Dorian Williams, A.J. Klein
• CB: Tre’Davious White, Kaiir Elam, Taron Johnson, Dane Jackson, Christian Benford
• S: Jordan Poyer, Micah Hyde, Taylor Rapp, Damar Hamlin, Jared Mayden

Special Teams Depth Chart

• K: Tyler Bass
• P: Sam Martin
• LS: Reid Ferguson
• KR: Nyheim Hines, Deonte Harty
• PR: Nyheim Hines, Deonte Harty

2022 Results and Standings

The Bills were an incredible football team a season ago. They won 13 regular-season games, lost three, and had their game against the Cincinnati Bengals canceled after Damar Hamlin’s awful injury.

Those three losses were by a combined eight points. Despite playing only 16 games, only the 49ers had a better scoring differential on the season.

But fans don’t care about regular-season victories. In any NFL season, there are 31 losers and only one winner. The truth is, it’s incredibly hard to win a Super Bowl, no matter how easy it was for Tom Brady. He ruined our perception of success. The Bills have been incredibly competitive over the last few seasons, but only one team can be crowned.

Buffalo’s season came to an end against the Bengals in the Divisional Round of the AFC playoffs. The AFC is incredibly talented from top to bottom among playoff contenders. Among the NFL’s best quarterbacks, it’s likely, at worst, four of the top five reside in the AFC.

A year after the Bills and Chiefs played in one of the greatest games in NFL history in the Divisional Round, Buffalo laid an egg against the Bengals, allowing two early touchdowns and only coming within seven points for one possession in the second quarter. They went on to lose 27-10.

2023 Power Ranking and Season Outlook

The Bills rank fourth in the post-draft NFL Power Rankings, with their seat atop the AFC East currently secured by one spot. The Jets and Dolphins each boast talented rosters, one of which drastically improved their offense on paper while the other drastically improved on the defensive side of the ball.

The Bills’ first-place schedule certainly doesn’t look like a walk in the park. They’ll face what looks to be a talented NFC East while also being forced to face their own divisional opponents six times in 2023. Other difficult games on paper appear to be the Bengals, Chiefs, and Chargers, all away from Buffalo.

The Bills should once again prove a formidable foe in a difficult AFC. If they remain relatively healthy throughout the year, they pose a real threat at the top of the AFC.