The Bills don’t have to worry about finding their franchise quarterback. Josh Allen has already locked that down.
The bigger question is whether Buffalo can keep him clean.
That was the story in 2024, when the Bills finally got real continuity up front and Allen was sacked only 14 times. Last season told a different tale.
Protection slipped, and Allen went down 40 times. Heading into this year, Buffalo does bring back four of its five starters from the last two seasons, but there’s still one spot to sort out after David Edwards left for the New Orleans Saints in free agency.
That left guard job is expected to come down to Alec Anderson, Austin Corbett, and Jude Bowry.
The two constants on the edge are Dion Dawkins and Spencer Brown, the tackles who have been responsible for shielding Allen for years. Dawkins has handled the blindside, Brown has stabilized the right side, and together they’ve given Buffalo a dependable bookend pairing. Still, Pro Football Focus just delivered a reminder that league-wide respect doesn’t always match local reputation.
Dalton Wasserman and Max Chadwick slotted Brown at No. 24 and Dawkins at No. 27 in their recent offensive tackle rankings.
On Brown, they wrote: " Brown’s rugged play style is a perfect fit for Buffalo’s downhill run game. In 2025, he posted a career-high 85.7 PFF run-blocking grade that ranked as the seventh-best mark among qualified tackles.
He did see a bit of a downturn in pass protection, as he allowed 41 pressures and earned a middling 61.7 PFF pass-blocking grade. Overall, though, Brown is a solid player on one of the NFL’s most productive offensive lines." said Wasserman and Chadwick.
Their evaluation of Dawkins was just as pointed: " One of the most durable and consistent players in the NFL, Dawkins made his fifth consecutive Pro Bowl in 2025. It was also his eighth straight campaign playing at least 1,000 snaps, and his ninth straight season with at least a 76.0 PFF pass-blocking grade. Dawkins is the captain and enforcer of an excellent Buffalo offensive line, and the Bills know precisely what to expect from him on a weekly basis." said Wasserman and Chadwick.
Brown’s reputation has long been built on his run blocking, and that part of his game has been a strength since he entered the league. Pass protection took longer to come around, and while he was strong in 2023-2024, there was some regression last season. With Pat Meyer now in place as the new offensive line coach, Brown gets a chance to reset.
Dawkins, meanwhile, has been the model of consistency. Bills fans know the floor he brings every week. The issue last season was penalties, and if he can clean that up, he’ll move closer to the top tier again.
In Other News...
Bills Camp Battle Could Decide More Than One Linebacker Job
Training camp is opening with Buffalos linebacker room carrying more intrigue than usual, and the inside spot next to Terrel Bernard looks like one of the first real tests on the roster. Kaleb Elarms-Orr and Dorian Williams are in the mix there, while the outside jobs are expected to belong to Gregory Rousseau and Joey Bosa, giving the Bills a veteran edge on the perimeter even as the middle stays unsettled.
Bernards health hangs over the whole group, because any hiccup there could force the Bills to rethink more than just one position. If the plan starts to wobble, Buffalo has a few short-term answers it can explore, and the depth chart behind the starters already has names like Joe Andreessen, Keonta Jenkins and others waiting for their chance to matter. [Read more 🡒]
Bills Camp Tension Is Already Building Around C.J. Gardner-Johnson
C.J. Gardner-Johnson has barely settled into his first Bills camp, and already the conversation around him is turning into a side story. The veteran defensive back was seen live streaming on Twitch, prompting head coach Joe Brady to remind him to be mindful about where he does it, a small moment that quickly became part of the early tone around his arrival in Buffalo.
Gardner-Johnson has pushed back on any idea that he is becoming a distraction, and he has also tried to frame the chatter around his reputation in a broader way. Still, the scrutiny has only grown, with Sports Illustrated insider Alex Brasky taking aim on social media and Gardner-Johnson continuing to defend the way he carries himself by pointing to the success of the teams he has played for. [Read more 🡒]
Why Bills Fans Should Be Wary Of The Justin Herbert Buzz
Justin Herberts engagement to pop star Madison Beer adds another layer of attention around a quarterback who already draws plenty of it, and the timing naturally invites comparisons to other passers who entered a season with major off-field news hanging over them. For Bills fans, the broader football angle matters more than the celebrity headline: Herbert is still one of the leagues most talented arms, and the conversation around him has shifted this offseason because of the new structure around his offense.
There is also a reason this buzz is being taken seriously beyond the tabloid sheen. Herbert now has a new offensive coordinator and, on paper, a setup that could help him take another step if the system clicks right away. The question for Buffalo observers is the same one that follows any AFC quarterback with this kind of upside and a fresh start around him: whether the attention stays a sideshow, or whether it ends up being part of a bigger leap. [Read more 🡒]