Buffalo Bills defense ‘fairly likely’ to be top 10 in 2024

Fielding a top ten defense in Buffalo is nothing new for Coach McDermott and the Bills. The unit ranked in the top ten in yards in five of McDermott’s seven seasons in Buffalo and in the top five of them. When it comes to points allowed, the Bills have been top five four times, I think it’s safe to say McDermott knows a thing or two about coaching defense. However, he will be without two guys he has had in Buffalo since his arrival, Jordan Poyer and Micah Hyde. It’s still unclear whether or not Hyde will retire, but for now we’re assuming he won’t return.

Cbssports.com writer Jared Dubin recently ranked the NFL’s 32 defenses based on how likely they are to field a top-ten defense in 2024. He separated the respective teams into several categories, ranging from “most improbable” to “most probable”. He categorized the bills as “somewhat likely.” This is also a logical classification. The Bills, despite potentially missing both starting safeties the last seven seasons, still return the majority of the defense, and they should get Matt Milano back.

Dubin addressed the loss of Hyde and Poyer, but added “…Matt Milano, Terrel Bernard, Greg Rousseau and Ed Oliver are still there. So is Sean McDermott. And it’s been a pretty consistent high-flying defense when he is healthy. And he doesn’t even mention a perfectly healthy DaQuan Jones. This is a point I’ve tried to make on some of our recent podcast episodes. It seems like most of the national media and even some fans are sleeping on the Bills defense. But make no mistake, this unit will still be a solid group in 2024.

The Bills added a few pieces via the draft that could also play an important role, with safety Cole Bishop and edge rusher Javon Solomon. If these two can contribute meaningful, impactful snaps, and Von Miller returns to his old self, the Bills could not only be a top ten defense, but could find themselves somewhere in the top five. Don’t count out coach Sean McDermott and his coaching impact on this defense in 2024.