Buffalo’s run defense was a problem all last season, and the numbers made that impossible to ignore. The Bills gave up 136.2 rushing yards per game and 5.1 yards per carry, a brutal combination that kept putting their defense on the back foot.
It wasn’t just the weekly grind, either. Per Pro Football Reference, Buffalo surrendered 200-plus rushing yards in four games and 100-plus yards in seven more games outside of those four.
Even in the Wild Card playoff win over Jacksonville, the Bills still allowed 154 yards on the ground. And yet, Buffalo only lost three of those games, a sign of how often the rest of the team had to cover for a defense that wasn’t getting the job done against the run.
That issue is part of why the Bills moved to reshape the defensive setup. After Sean McDermott was fired, Buffalo needed a new defensive play caller, and once Joe Brady was hired, he brought in Jim Leonhard from the Denver Broncos to handle that side of the ball. The defensive line itself didn’t change much, but the scheme and the added outside linebackers are expected to help the Bills hold up better in run support.
Even with those changes, the challenge ahead is steep. Gary Davenport of Bleacher Report recently listed five running backs who could break out in 2026, and three of them are on Buffalo’s schedule: Ashton Jeanty of the Las Vegas Raiders, Omarion Hampton of the Los Angeles Chargers, and TreVeyon Henderson of the New England Patriots.
Jeanty’s rookie year was uneven, but he still produced 975 rushing yards and five touchdowns while running behind one of the league’s worst offensive lines. The Raiders added Tyler Linderbaum to help stabilize things up front, and if Jeanty can consistently reach the second level, he looks capable of topping 1,000 yards.
Hampton’s first season was interrupted by an early injury, which limited him to nine games and 545 rushing yards with four touchdowns. Still, the Chargers have Justin Herbert and now Mike McDaniel as offensive coordinator, and the team is not shy about leaning on the run game. That gives Hampton a real chance to make a leap.
Then there’s Henderson, a name Bills fans already know well. He ran for 911 yards and nine touchdowns last season.
In Buffalo’s first meeting with New England, Henderson was held to 24 rushing yards. But in the second matchup in Foxborough, he flipped the script and gashed the Bills for 148 yards and two touchdowns.
And the Bills already had plenty on their plate. Their run defense is set to deal with backs like Derrick Henry, Jahmyr Gibbs, De’Von Achane, Kyren Williams, and Kenneth Walker. Add Jeanty, Hampton, and Henderson into the mix, and Buffalo is staring at a season full of tough tests for a defense that has to be much sturdier against the run.
In Other News...
Bills Fans Suddenly Have To Revisit The Stefon Diggs Question
Stefon Diggs is back in the conversation in a way Bills fans probably did not expect when Buffalo moved on from him two years ago. After his release by the New England Patriots, the veteran receiver is looking for a new landing spot, and the timing has naturally reopened an old question in Buffalo: whether a reunion could make sense for a team that has kept winning without him, but could still use another proven pass catcher.
The appeal is obvious because Diggs and Josh Allen once formed one of the leagues most productive quarterback-receiver pairings, and Buffalo knows exactly what kind of impact he can have when the fit is right. The harder part is figuring out whether that connection can be recreated in a different stage of both their careers, with different expectations attached and a very different version of the Bills offense than the one Diggs left behind. [Read more 🡒]
Deone Walker Could Change Everything For The Bills Defense In 2026
Buffalos defense is already headed into a reset of sorts with Jim Leonhard taking over as coordinator and Ed Oliver expected back in the middle, but the bigger internal swing may come from Deone Walker. The 2025 fourth-round pick was thrown right into the fire as a rookie, starting 16 games and holding up well enough to make the Bills think they may have found a long-term piece on the interior.
Walkers next step is about more than just surviving on early downs. The Bills want him to stay on the field longer and become a more disruptive pass rusher, and he has spent the offseason focused on conditioning to make that happen. If that work translates, Walker could give Buffalo a different kind of presence next to Oliver and help change the look of the front in 2026. [Read more 🡒]
Bills Fans Should Keep A Close Eye On Mecole Hardman Jr
Mecole Hardman Jr. quietly carved out a place in Buffalo late last season, first landing on the practice squad in November before working his way onto the active roster and into the final stretch of the year. The Bills got a look at his speed on offense and in the return game, and by January he had rewarded that opportunity with a one-year reserve/futures contract that keeps him in the mix heading into the 2026 offseason.
For Buffalo, the interest now is less about what Hardman did in a brief cameo and more about where he fits next. The wide receiver room still has room for someone to grab a job at the back end of the roster, and Hardmans path figures to be tied to whether he can stick as a receiver, a returner, or both when the Bills sort out the 53-man picture later this summer. [Read more 🡒]