After racking up 98 wins across 9 seasons as head coach, the Buffalo Bills moved on from Sean McDermott this past offseason. Looking for a change at the top, Buffalo was unsatisfied with not being able to get over the hump, even though McDermott has led his teams to at least two playoff games in each of their past six seasons.
Instead of going outside the lines for the next hire, Buffalo stayed in-house, elevating offensive coordinator Joe Brady to his first head-coaching gig. Having made stops at both the collegiate and professional levels during his coaching career, Brady will need to keep things heading in the right direction for Buffalo, as they will have their work cut out for them in the AFC East with the New England Patriots.
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Buffalo Bills
2026 Coaching Staff: HC Joe Brady, OC Pete Carmichael Jr., DC Jim Leonhard
Previous Staff: HC Sean McDermott, OC Joe Brady, DC Bobby Babich
A 12-5 season earned the Bills the 6th seed, as they fell 2 games short of the Patriots for the divisional crown. Heading on the road to kick off their AFC playoff race, Buffalo held on against the Jacksonville Jaguars, upsetting the three seed and earning an impressive road win. Losing to the Denver Broncos in the AFC Divisional Playoff round ended Buffalo’s season earlier than they had hoped.
Holes in the passing attack slowed down the Buffalo offense, as Josh Allen was forced to once again shoulder much of the offensive load. It was the receiver room that let this team down, as the trio of Keon Coleman, Brandin Cooks, and Gabe Davis were no more than stop-gaps, leaving Khalil Shakir as the lone trustworthy option.
The growth of James Cook was due in large part to how Brady utilized him, and that will likely continue moving forward. The addition of Pete Carmichael Jr. could shift Cook’s role a bit, but his impact in both the pass and run games will continue to anchor this offense.
Major Fantasy Implications
| Buffalo Bills | Fantasy Football Outlook |
|---|---|
| Offensive Philosophy | Balanced attack with heavy personnel tendencies |
| Biggest Winner | Josh Allen |
| Sneaky Winner | Skyler Bell |
| Biggest Question | Dalton Kincaid |
| Dynasty Watch | WR snap counts in 3-WR sets |
Coach Background
Brady, being an internal hire, is an interesting path for Buffalo to take, as he was a McDermott hire, meaning a similar approach to games will likely continue for this franchise. Choosing a younger coach with an offensive background will make this team more aggressive on offense, an important area that has been missing.
Bringing in Carmichael is an underrated hire for the Bills offense, as Carmichael was a part of many successful offenses in New Orleans alongside Sean Payton. Carmichael was on the staff alongside Payton in Denver this past season, overseeing rookie RJ Harvey’s acclimation to the league.
Carmichael brings over 15 years of NFL offensive coaching experience to the Bills and will serve as a sounding board for Brady on offense. Having been on coaching staffs that emphasized Drew Brees and Michael Thomas in the passing attack, as well as Alvin Kamara in the run game, shows that Carmichael has plenty of experience in optimizing both elements of the offense. He should be a key part of the Buffalo offense moving forward, and with Brady having coached under Carmichael during their days with the Saints, there is already a working relationship between the two.
New Offensive Scheme
The offense won’t look much different for Buffalo in 2026, as Brady will remain the offensive play caller, on top of handling additional head coaching duties. So his ideology of feeding the hot hand and spreading the ball around will continue to drive this offense next season.
Passing Game Impact
Allen is unquestionably one of the top-three QBs in the league, and Brady understands the kind of role his star QB plays in the offense. Brady being able to utilize Allen’s legs, as well as his throwing arm, in the offensive game plan has been a positive since taking over as offensive coordinator. He seems to understand the importance of letting the star players control the game.
But the success of the offense, specifically the passing attack, all boils down to how the WR room is built out this offseason, and thankfully, the acquisition of D.J. Moore should help. With a below-average group of pass catchers last season, the Buffalo offense still ranked 15th in passing yards and 7th in passing TDs in 2025—more because of Allen than his receivers.
Moore’s role with the Bills may look similar to how it did when both Brady and Moore were together in Carolina. Adding Moore will finally give Allen a tried-and-true pass catcher on the boundary, allowing this offense to add layers instead of just being an over-the-middle passing attack.
Another player that will need to take a step up in 2026 is Dalton Kincaid, who is heading into a contract year for the Bills. Having had back-to-back seasons worse than his strong rookie campaign, Kincaid needs to get healthy and spend more time on the field than lately. Kincaid’s role in Brady’s offense is not a super explosive one, but it sees a consistent target percentage that gives Kincaid both a solid floor and high upside; combine the potential for a breakout year with an upcoming trip into free agency, and you have the makings of a really strong season for Kincaid.
Running Game Impact
Brady loves to lean on the run game, having led the league in rushing attempts last season and ranking 9th in 2024. Cook and Ray Davis are heavily incorporated into Brady’s offensive game plan, even though some of his run calls are very predictable in certain downs and distances.
While center Connor McGovern signed a four-year extension, guard David Edwards departed in free agency, thrusting O’Cyrus Torrence and Alec Anderson into more important roles at the guard positions. The offensive line isn’t all that deep, but with Dion Dawkins and Spencer Brown anchoring the tackle spots, the run game should be just as successful in 2026.
A heavy early-game reliance on Cook and the run game is a staple of Brady’s, which can become a bit predictable. However, as shown by Cook’s stats before and after Brady took over play-calling, he is the second-most-trusted piece of the offense behind Allen.
| Season | Rushing Att. | Rushing Yds | Receiving Yds | Total TDs |
| 2023 | 237 | 1,122 | 445 | 6 |
| 2024 | 207 | 1,009 | 258 | 18 |
| 2025 | 309 | 1,621 | 291 | 14 |
If you are looking for a major takeaway for what to expect from the Brady-led Bills, it’s that Cook will remain the most important part of the offense not named Josh Allen. Brady seems to have blind trust in his running back, something that gives Cook one of the highest floors among all NFL RBs. Also, if the Bills decide to finally take a step towards upgrading their pass catchers, this offense could absolutely reach a new level in the NFL and become one of the best dual-threat units in the league.
Fantasy Storylines To Follow
D.J. Moore
The pricey acquisition of Moore this offseason paints a very evident picture of things to come for the Buffalo passing offense. By getting Allen a bona fide WR1 option, the passing attack should be full speed ahead in 2026, especially with this room now being a bit more crowded.
While the writing was on the wall for the Chicago Bears to move on from Moore this offseason, that isn’t to say the veteran wideout is washed up. Facing a passing attack that has the young trio of Rome Odunze, Luther Burden III, and Colston Loveland all vying for targets, the justification to move on from Moore is easy to see.
- Moore led all CHI pass catchers in 2026 in routes run (512) and end zone targets (11)
- Moore had the second-highest aDOT (12.3) and air yards share (22.4%) among all Chicago pass catchers
- Allen targeted his first read on 63% of passing plays in 2025, while Moore received 71.9% of Caleb Williams’ first-read targets last year
Skyler Bell
The UConn rookie, drafted in the fourth round, joins a receiver room that can absolutely use his skill set right out of the gate. With Moore and Shakir both ahead of him on the depth chart, Bell enters his rookie campaign fighting for playing time alongside Keon Coleman and Joshua Palmer.
- High-efficiency numbers against zone and man prove that Bell wasn’t just a flash in the pan at UConn against ‘lower-tier’ opponents, having transferred in from Wisconsin
- A sustained workload of snaps both on the boundary and inside in the slot means he can make an impact in 31 personnel right away, regardless of down/situation/area of the field
- Allen averaged over 74 yards per game when targeting slot receivers, and 81 yards per game when targeting boundary receivers, so sprinkling the ball all over the field means the pigskin will find Bell
James Cook
Locked in until 2030 on a very nice deal, Cook is positioned to thrive in the new-look Buffalo offense this year. With both Ray Davis and Ty Johnson still duking it out for mop-up/third-down work, Cook has the starter’s role locked in and will be fed as such, giving him the coveted safe-floor and high-ceiling outlook.
It shouldn’t be a surprise that Cook will be one of the most leaned-on pieces in the Bills offense in 2026, and Brady has shown his affinity to ride the hot hand, even through fumble issues. If Cook can cut down on the turnovers, he could absolutely be a dark-horse candidate to finish as a top-three overall RB this upcoming year.
- Cook’s work in the passing game saw a slight uptick last year, as he crested the 40–target mark for only the second time in his career; however, he still pales in comparison to other multi-dimensional RBs in the league in the pass-catching category
- Six fumbles (three lost) were a career-worst mark for Cook last year, as he continues to put the ball on the ground. But as long as Brady continues to trust Cook, his turnovers shouldn’t impact his playing time.
Biggest 2026 Takeaways
Moving forward with continuity at head coach is a good sign for the offense, as Brady was able to expand this offense last year. But typically there is a reshuffling of responsibilities when it comes to an OC making the jump to HC, which might force Allen to adjust more things on the fly and go off script a bit.
However you want to look at it, this Bills offense is one of the better units in the NFL, and the additions of Moore and Bell are reasons why. Being able to not only take another crack at establishing a WR1 for Allen, but to also round out the receiver room, speaks to the identity that this offense is likely to have in 2026 and beyond, making them a unit to target for your dynasty football rosters.
Possible predictions:
- Expect Allen to factor into the MVP conversation again, crossing the 30 passing TD mark for the first time since 2022 but failing to score double-digit TDs since that same year as Brady prioritizes the passing game and Cook more.
- Cook will take a step forward in the passing game in 2026, earning 50-plus targets as Brady manufactures more plays to get the ball in the hands of their best non-QB skill player.
- The trio of Bell, Moore, and Shakir will vulture work from each as the season progresses, but all three will have their big games; expect Moore to lead the team in yards and receiving touchdowns, Shakir be near the lead in receptions, and for Bell to cross the 300-yard mark with a few TDs sprinkled in.
- Kincaid, in a contract year, will finally put together a healthy season and sign an extension with the Bills, crossing the 700-yard mark while setting a career mark in receptions (75+).
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