Joe Brady left off PFF’s notable players list thanks to Bills’ interesting offseason

When Joe Brady took over as interim offensive coordinator midway through last season for the Buffalo Bills, the move was an improvement over what it had been under Ken Dorsey. After a dominant three-week stretch from Week 2 to Week 5, the Bills offense looked awful. There’s no other way to put it. Josh Allen and the offense looked weak and struggled to get into the red zone, or even get the ball in the door. The offense was heavily focused on getting the ball to Stefon Diggs and Allen seemed to be trying to force big plays, which was ultimately part of the reason the Bills fell into a bad streak from Week 5 onward.

After a Week 10 loss to the Denver Broncos, the Bills parted ways with Dorsey and handed the keys to Joe Brady as interim offensive coordinator. A new offense was created under Brady. It was no longer the Allen-Diggs show. Instead, Bills fans saw guys like Dalton Kincaid, Khalil Shakir, James Cook, and even Ty Johnson step up to the plate. Buffalo’s running game came alive, averaging 150 yards per game under Brady while passing production lagged a bit. However, seeing how the Bills won games without Allen needing to take over shows that Brady is taking the pressure off his star quarterback. The Bills have lost only twice when Brady has taken control of the offense, once in a high-scoring game against the Philadelphia Eagles and once in the playoffs when Buffalo’s defense collapsed in the second half.

Brady is the official offensive coordinator heading into 2024 and has the chance to grow his career and potentially land a head coaching job in the future.

Bradley Locker of Pro Football Focus released a list of eight NFL coordinators who could be impactful members of their respective teams by 2024. Maybe it’s because we’ve already seen what Brady can do as the Bills’ offensive coordinator, but Locker left Brady off that list, which is a mistake.

Buffalo will move from Stefon Diggs and Gabe Davis to Shakir, Marquez Valdes-Scantling, Chase Claypool, Curtis Samuel and Keon Coleman. On paper, it looks like a demotion, but all that matters is what happens on the field. Who knows, this new offense will generate more excitement because there is a lot of uncertainty.

Brady has his work cut out for him this season, as the Bills have almost an entirely new receiver room, but Shakir and Kincaid are back and have experience in Brady’s system. While there are a lot of uncertainties in Buffalo’s offense, as long as Josh Allen plays at a high level, Brady will have the chance to continue to elevate this offense. Think of it this way, if Brady can take this offense to new heights with Allen and the supporting cast he has, he will be a big draw for head coaches next season.