The 2023 NFL Draft will be held in Kansas City from April 27-29. The Buffalo Bills appear to be just one or two moves away from becoming serious Super Bowl contenders. With a strong draft class, Buffalo may not be far off from challenging the Kansas City Chiefs and Cincinnati Bengals at the top of the AFC. Here are the best and worst offseason moves the Bills have made so far.
Best | Re-signing safety Jordan Poyer
Poyer allowed just 184 yards in coverage in 2022, and opposing QBs had a passer rating of 86 when targeting him. He’s allowed fewer than 10 yards per reception each of the last three seasons, and he has a combined nine interceptions over the last two years.
An All-Pro and Pro Bowl selection, Poyer is one of the top safeties in the NFL, and he and Micah Hyde form one of the best safety tandems in the league. Keeping Poyer in the fold was a far wiser move than trying to go the free-agent route where Jessie Bates III and C.J. Gardner-Johnson were the only premium players at the position.
Best | Re-signing LB Matt Milano
After losing Tremaine Edmunds via free agency, letting Milano also get away was simply not an option. The 28-year-old linebacker is the straw that stirs the drink on defense, so to speak, and keeping him in the center of the defense was vital.
Earning his first All-Pro and Pro Bowl honors in 2022, Milano led the team in tackles for loss (12) and fumble recoveries (two) and he ranked second in tackles (99), passes defensed (11) and interceptions (three). Milano has logged 10 or more tackles for loss in three of the last five seasons, has nine fumble recoveries since 2017 and he’s consistently one of Buffalo’s top linebackers in coverage.
Worst | Losing LB Tremaine Edmunds to the Bears
Just 24 and already a two-time Pro Bowler, it was always going to be difficult for Buffalo to match the kind of money Edmunds was going to command on the open market.
It’s going to be a challenge to replace what Edmunds brought to Buffalo the last five years (565 tackles, 32 tackles for loss, 35 passes defensed), and now the Bills will likely have to spend a high draft pick on his replacement.
Worst | Not re-signing guard Rodger Saffold
While signing Connor McGovern from the Cowboys isn’t a terrible move, paying him $7.6 million per year is a bit questionable. Saffold allowed the same amount of sacks and two fewer QB hits on 248 more pass-blocking snaps.
Sure, Saffold is 34 and likely only has a few years left in the NFL. But he’s coming off his second straight Pro Bowl season and he allowed just two sacks and five QB hits in 2022. Keeping him around likely would have cost around $3 million to $5 million on a one- or two-year deal and allowed Buffalo to keep the left side of its offensive line intact.
