The Buffalo Bills have had one of the best offenses in the NFL in recent years and despite that, ESPN has some negative thoughts.
ESPN ranked all 32 sets of playmakers (wide receivers, tight ends, running backs) on offenses across the NFL heading into the 2025 season.
Clearly in a bit of a nod to quarterback Josh Allen since there is little belief in others, the Bills finish way down at No. 28 overall.
In fairness, Allen is only joined by running back James Cook as a consistent producer in the unit which is what Cook is despite his contract talks with the team. He’s a Pro Bowl caliber player but the receivers and tight ends on Buffalo’s roster leave a lot to be desired and pull this grade down.
Khalil Shakir earned praise from ESPN but others on the Bills roster did not. Buffalo’s ranking fell from the No. 24 position they were ranked last offseason as well.
Overall on ESPN’s rankings, the New England Patriots still ended up behind the Bills at No. 30 overall in terms of AFC East teams… but the New York Jets only are at the No. 26 position, one spot ahead of Buffalo. The Miami Dolphins lead the division at 10th.
The Philadelphia Eagles earned the top position in ESPN’s poll.
ESPN’s full breakdown on the Bills via analyst Bill Barnwell can be found below:
28. Buffalo Bills
2024 rank: 24 | 2023 rank: 20
This probably feels low for one of the league’s best offenses, but star quarterback Josh Allen has been removed from the equation. While general manager Brandon Beane might disagree, this is likely the least imposing group of receivers in the NFL on paper. Khalil Shakir continues to improve and averaged an impressive 2.4 yards per route run last season, but virtually every other Buffalo pass catcher failed to take a leap forward. Dalton Kincaid failed to top 55 receiving yards in a game. Second-round pick Keon Coleman averaged 19.2 yards per catch, but he wasn’t able to command a consistent role in the lineup and had just three catches on 46 routes in the postseason. Free agent addition Curtis Samuel was often anonymous, and while Mack Hollins exceeded expectations, he has been replaced by former Chargers wideout Joshua Palmer.
The breakout belonged to running back James Cook, whose touchdown rate rebounded way past the mean. After racking up just four scores on 326 carries between Years 1 and 2, he scored 16 times on 207 carries in Year 3. Cook has proved to be a great zone runner and showed off more big-play ability in 2024, but I’d be surprised if his touchdown total didn’t land somewhere between two and 16 this season. There’s a very useful running back rotation between Cook, sophomore Ray Davis and third-down option Ty Johnson, but with these rankings weighing receivers over backs, the Bills fall toward the bottom of the charts.
This article originally appeared on Bills Wire: Bills weapons on offense do not fare well in ESPN rankings