7 New Buffalo Bills Players Who Could Make or Break the 2026 Season

The 2026 season is as important a campaign as the Buffalo Bills have endured over the past many seasons.

A new head coach, new coordinators and a fresh look on almost everything the team plans to do this year will set the stage for a long list of new players to help the team take the leap it’s been hoping for since its postseason struggles began. Of the many first-year players on the roster, there are a select few who could make or break Buffalo’s season, beginning with DJ Moore, whom the team traded for with hopes of bolstering its passing game.

DJ Moore

Moore is a versatile chess piece who will be added to head coach Joe Brady’s arsenal, which should, in turn, help Josh Allen and the Bills' aerial attack. He has a long history of production, including four career 1,000-yard seasons.

While he took a step back in 2025, when he totaled just 50 receptions for 682 yards receiving, his ‘25 postseason was impressive. Through two playoff games a year ago, the 29-year-old wide receiver finished with 11 receptions and two touchdowns. He has often displayed a flair for the dramatic, and if he continues to do so with the Bills, he will be a significant help.

However, if he fails to do so, his price tag in the form of his $24.9 million cap hit in 2027 will prove costly for the Bills, who are looking toward a challenging salary cap situation heading into next year. A lot is riding on whether Moore finds success this season, and if he doesn’t, the Bills will be up a creek without a paddle.

Skyler Bell

Bell is another player added to Buffalo’s passing game, which should see a marked improvement in 2026. The Bills finished last season ranked 15th in the league in passing yards per game, and they are expecting a leap with Moore and Bell now in tow.

The 5-foot-11, 192-pound wide receiver earned a Pro Football Focus receiving grade of 85.2 last season, which was ranked 34th of 679 players graded at the position. He may exhibit some growing pains upon his entry into the league, as many rookies do, but once he gets going, Bell should become a significant contributor for the Bills in Year 1.

On the other side of the coin, if Buffalo’s fourth-round pick is slow to get going, that could prove costly. Both Keon Coleman and Joshua Palmer underperformed last season, and the Bills desperately need Bell to surpass both players on the depth chart by season’s end.

Bradley Chubb

Chubb was another of the big-name free agents signed by the Bills this offseason, inking a three-year deal worth $43.5 million. The 29-year-old is coming off a solid ‘25 season in which he finished with 8.5 sacks a year after he suffered a torn ACL, which wasted his 2024 campaign.

In his first season in Buffalo, Chubb will be tasked with helping elevate the Bills’ pass rush to much greater heights. Buffalo’s leading sack-getter last year was Greg Rousseau, who finished with seven of the team’s 36 sacks, which were tied for 20th-most in the league.

If he can lead the Bills to a more productive season in their effort to get after the quarterback, his signing will have accomplished one of Buffalo’s most significant offseason missions. However, with him signed through 2028, a failure to meet expectations could prove catastrophic not only in the short term but also in the long term.

T.J. Parker

Speaking of pass rush, Parker was drafted to help inject youth into the Bills' group of edge defenders and will be called upon to play meaningful snaps right away to begin his NFL career.

Buffalo is likely to undergo a distinct transition with veterans A.J. Epenesa and Joey Bosa remaining as free agents. Parker’s selection was part of the plan to replace those two players, while also helping the group become a bit more effective defending against the run.

Parker’s 77.5 run-defense grade ranked 142nd among players graded at the position last season, according to PFF, and Buffalo will be looking for more of the same from their prized youngster. This pick must be a home run for the Bills, who risked a lot when they traded down before taking the 21-year-old with the No. 35 overall selection.

C.J. Gardner-Johnson

The Bills must find a player to pair alongside Cole Bishop in the back end of its defense, and Gardner-Johnson has been pegged as the team’s most likely first option to solve that area of need entering the upcoming campaign. However, has proven to be a highly volatile player in the past, and it will be interesting to see if he can stick around and produce with the Bills.

Gardner-Johnson has played for four teams over the last three seasons, so the Bills are taking a chance on a player who has worn out his welcome fairly quickly in each of his recent stops. With that said, he is a former Super Bowl champion, doing so with the Philadelphia Eagles in 2024. So he brings a certain level of experience that is not widespread throughout Buffalo’s roster.

If this player works out, great. But he also has the potential to disrupt things with his strong personality under a first-year head coach. We’ll see how it all plays out.

Davison Igbinosun

Brandon Beane and his front-office staff took a chance on trading up for Igbinosun in the second round of the 2026 draft. Now, the former Ohio State Buckeyes defender must work his way into a contributing role for the Bills in Year 1.

Whether that comes defensively, which appears a bit unlikely with former first-round pick Maxwell Hairston set to assume a starting role, or on special teams, it’s critical that Igbinosun establishes himself as a pro-ready player in one way or another. The Bills cannot afford to waste a second-round pick on a player who needs years of development. They need help now.

If Igbinosun cannot deliver, it will set the Bills back.

Kaleb Elarms-Orr

This is one player on my list who is not under as much pressure to perform in Year 1, but if he is able to quickly rise in the ranks, it would be a major boost for the Bills defensively.

Right now, it appears most likely that, barring injury, Elarms-Orr will be a special teams player as a rookie. However, if he can catapult himself into a starting role, beating out fellow Bills LBs Terrel Bernard or Dorian Williams in new defensive coordinator Jim Leonhard’s attack-style defense, it would create an ideal situation this season and into the future.

So, while Elarms-Orr isn’t necessarily a player who can break the Bills’ season, he could make it if he exceeds expectations early in his career.

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