Buffalo’s backfield enters the season with a different kind of spotlight on it.
James Cook is coming off a huge year, one that ended with him as the league’s rushing champion after he piled up 1,621 yards and 12 touchdowns on 309 carries in the regular season. He also anchored a Bills ground game that led the league with 2,714 rushing yards and finished with 30 rushing touchdowns. That kind of production sets the bar high, but it also raises the obvious question: what comes next in Joe Brady’s first season as head coach?
The answer may involve more than just handing Cook the ball.
Buffalo’s running backs group includes Cook, Ty Johnson, Ray Davis, Frank Gore Jr. and former United Football League champion Ian Wheeler. And while the Bills leaned heavily on the run a year ago - they ran the ball on 49.84% of their plays, second-most in the NFL - there are signs the offense could look different this time around. No team ran it more on first down than Buffalo, and Cook helped fuel that approach with 38 carries of 10-plus yards on first down.
Still, the expectation is that the Bills may ask Josh Allen to throw more to his backs, especially Cook and Johnson, as part of a broader shift in the offense. That would give Brady another way to tap into one of the team’s most talented position groups.
There’s also a workload question hanging over Cook. Buffalo would be smart to keep him fresh if it wants him at full strength for a possible Super Bowl run, and that makes his usage one of the key storylines heading into the season. In fact, Cook is being framed as Buffalo’s second-most important player in this pivotal year.
The roster battle behind him is worth watching too. The Bills still have decisions to make on who sticks on the 53-man roster and who ends up as a cut candidate, with the depth chart featuring a mix of proven production and players trying to carve out a role.
Elsewhere around the team, attention is also turning to which Bills are under the most pressure at training camp, with wide receiver Keon Coleman among that group. There’s also discussion about which former and current Bills players could be headed for the Pro Football Hall of Fame, along with a look at Buffalo’s salary cap situation as camp approaches.
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Bills Fans Just Got A Clearer Look At Josh Allen's Safety Net
Kyle Allens arrival in Buffalo this spring gave the Bills a more established option behind Josh Allen, and the early read on the quarterback room has only sharpened since then. Signed to a two-year contract in March, Kyle Allen has been around the team for offseason workouts and is viewed as the more capable insurance policy than Shane Buechele, giving Buffalo a clearer picture of how it wants to handle the backup spot.
The next step is getting a longer look when the games start to count in the preseason, where Allen is expected to see plenty of snaps. He has not had extended NFL playing time in a while, but the Bills brought him in for a reason, and the coming months should show whether that experience translates into something the team can trust if it ever needs to lean on the No. 2 quarterback. [Read more 🡒]
Bills Camp Battle Could End Badly For A Familiar Name
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Frank Gore Jr. is among the names to watch, and his path looks tied to a crowded backfield and the kind of numbers game that often sends young players back to the practice squad or elsewhere. Javon Solomon faces a tougher climb in the new 3-4 look, while DeWayne Carter is working back from an Achilles tear and adjusting to a different role up front, making this stretch of camp less about headlines than about survival for several familiar faces. [Read more 🡒]
Bills Rookie Class May Be Closer To Fixing This Defense Than Expected
The Bills came out of the 2026 NFL Draft with a class built to help a side of the ball that has too often let them down when the games get biggest. Under new defensive coordinator Jim Leonhard, Buffalo used its first two selections on defense and kept leaning that way as the draft unfolded, eventually adding 10 players overall even though it entered with seven picks. It was a clear sign the front office wanted more than depth, especially after recent playoff runs exposed the defenses need for a reset.
Sports Illustrateds Justin Melo pointed to this rookie group as one that could push for playing time sooner rather than later, with names like EDGE T.J. Parker, cornerback Davison Igbinosun and linebacker Kaleb Elarms-Orr standing out as the kind of additions who can force their way into the conversation. For Buffalo, the appeal is obvious: if even a few of these rookies become real contributors, the Bills may be closer to solving a lingering problem than many expected when the draft began. [Read more 🡒]