Every offseason, fans hope their team improves on the weakness it had a season ago. Looking at some of the top Super Bowl contenders this upcoming season, it’s a fair question to ask. Did they fix their biggest problem from 2026? First up are the Buffalo Bills, who made a run to the AFC Divisional game last season, but ultimately lost in a close 33-30 game to the Denver Broncos.

Buffalo has loaded up and is ready to make another run for the Lombardi trophy. As long as quarterback Josh Allen is leading the team, Buffalo will be considered a team good enough to win a Super Bowl. That estimate leads us to the next question: what was Buffalo’s weakness in 2025?

Rushing defense.

How Did Buffalo Address it?

The main change from last season is the firing of nine-year head coach Sean McDermott, who led the defense. It was his specialty, but his unit struggled to perform in the playoffs. It led the ownership group to make a change, and they did. Buffalo hired its former offensive coordinator, Joe Brady, as the next head coach.

Brady went out and hired Jim Leonhard, who spent the past two seasons with the Broncos, helping coach one of the better defenses in the NFL. Leonhard will make a big change to the defensive scheme Buffalo will run, switching from a 4-3 to a 3-4 (three down linemen and four linebackers). This change allows Leonhard to get more aggressive and versatile with the fronts he’ll put out there. It keeps offenses guessing and will make it harder for offensive linemen to understand who and where they have to go on certain blocking plays.

Roster Additions

Looking at the additions Buffalo made this offseason when it comes to the front-seven, they didn’t address the interior defensive line all that much. Buffalo added Bradley Chubb this offseason to help boost the pass-rushing game, but he’s never been considered an elite run stopper in his career.

Other linebacker/edge rusher additions include Kaleb Elarms-Orr out of TCU and TJ Parker out of Clemson. Both players were added in the 2026 NFL Draft.

Looking at the playstyle of the two, Parker is more of a power-profile rusher who likes to get his arms into the chest of tackles and set the edge. He didn’t have the best final year at Clemson, but showed out in the pre-draft process, showing the type of power he brings to any defense. Elarms-Orr is a great athlete who is 6-foot-2, 234 pounds, and ran a 4.47 at the NFL Combine. He has the speed to chase plays across the field and a good base to handle contact in the gap. He just needs to work on his instincts and understanding of the angles offenses are trying to attack; he’s more of a developmental piece for this Bills defense.

The last major addition came on the interior defensive line, with the Bills taking Zane Durant in the fifth round of this past draft. The issue is he’s a smaller interior defensive lineman at 6-foot-1 and 290 pounds. Durant ran a 4.75 40 at the NFL Combine, matching the speed and burst he shows on tape. He will struggle when double-teams engage him, but given the type of athlete he is, he can beat lateral zone blocks to the point of attack, and his lower stature makes it harder for linemen to drive him out of the way. He’s primed to be more of a 3-technique, which is a position already held by Ed Oliver on the Bills roster.

Did the Bills Fix Their Rushing Defense?

The Bills entered 2026 with primarily the same linebacker core they had, and the same starting defensive line. Yes, they added rookies, but no real NFL veterans who can make an immediate impact. They hope to get some help from second-year players like TJ Sanders, Deone Walker, and Landon Jackson. All three can make jumps in their second years in the NFL to boost the rushing defense that was worrisome last season.

Just looking at it on paper, the Bills’ rushing defense can be slightly better, but not by much. Coaching can make an impact, and we won’t know that until actual football has been played. So at this moment, in July, the Bills’ rushing defense could still be below league average in 2026.

Looking on the bright side, there are some intriguing pieces mentioned that could improve this unit. Yes, it’s the same players, but Walker is a huge man at 6-foot-7 and 331 pounds; he has tremendous upside if he can find a little bit more consistency in his game.  If Walker can be that big gap-stuffing defensive tackle, it’ll open up lanes for Durant and Oliver to attack. The linebacker core is a big worry, but Buffalo seems optimistic about the group of Terrell Bernard and Dorian Williams.

On paper, improvement really didn’t happen; Bills fans will just have to be optimistic about players entering year two and a new coaching approach in 2026.