NFL writer envisions stunning highs or painful lows for Bills in 2024 NFL season

The Buffalo Bills have been an enigma for NFL pundits and writers during the 2024 NFL offseason. They’re a team with one of the best quarterbacks in the league, an offensive line returning four of five starters from last season, a young running back who is coming off the best year of his career, and an emerging star at tight end. Not bad, right?

Yet, the Bills lost their top receiver in Stefon Diggs while also shedding veteran talent like Micah Hyde, Jordan Poyer, and Mitch Morse. Their wide receiver room is a grab bag of talent, and they still don’t have a consistently tested cornerback to line up opposite Rasul Douglas on the boundary. From this perspective, it's not a great outlook for Buffalo. How the season will unfold will most likely fall somewhere in the middle, but Sports Illustrated writer Gilberto Manzano has tried to serve up the best outcome and the worst nightmare for the Bills this season. 

We’re going to take a look at his projections and some of the possible futures of the Bills this season. 

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Manzano believes that the best possible outcome for the Bills this year is simple - Josh Allen wins the NFL MVP Award and knocks the Chiefs out of the playoffs. He has to say about the possible redemption: “If the Bills are winning more and Allen’s throwing fewer interceptions, this could finally be the year they represent the AFC in the Super Bowl and deliver the first Lombardi Trophy in franchise history.” 

The Bills' season rests on Allen's right arm, but if the more egalitarian approach of Joe Brady’s offense takes flight, Buffalo's offense could be another juggernaut. If the Bills want to become that juggernaut again they’ll need Dalton Kincaid to make a leap in his production, and Manzano believes that Kincaid will breakout this season, describing him as “Allen’s No. 1 pass catcher with Diggs no longer on the field. Coleman might need time to find his footing in the NFL, and Samuel and Shakir are downfield threats, but might not be suited for the role of No. 1 pass catcher.” 

So all good, right? Well, Manzano also maps out the worst-case scenario for Buffalo this year. His argument is simple, yet effective: the retooling turns into a full-blown rebuild. Manzano has doubts in the Bills receiver corps, questioning if the likes of Curtis Samuel and Khalil Shakir can help carry the burden of the offense. These struggles could force them to lean more on rookie Keon Coleman, who is still incredibly raw and has immediate limitations. These struggles won’t just hit the offense: the lack of star power and continuity will affect Buffalo’s defense. The likes of Jordan Poyer, Micah Hyde, and Tre’Davious White have all been important cogs to the current run of success the Bills have been on since they first won the AFC East title in the 2020 season. If these cracks start to form, Manzano believes Buffalo won’t plaster them over, they'll tear it all down, writing “If it’s a rebuild, the Bills might pull the plug on McDermott after eight seasons.” 

Yikes. 

Both of these outcomes are dramatic and are taking big swings on the Bills future. As mentioned earlier, the Bills season will most likely fall in the middle. That being said, both of these futures are wholly realistic for the Bills this season which is an indictment of Buffalo’s offseason.

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