Bills' GM Brandon Beane Hints at Two Key Offseason Objectives at NFL Combine

The Buffalo Bills, as general manager and president of football operations Brandon Beane put it, are not "blowing up the team or anything like that." Still, a blueprint seems to be taking shape as the team prepares for Year 1 of the Joe Brady era.

Beane joined NFL Network's coverage of the NFL Scouting Combine on Saturday to discuss roster and coaching staff construction and this year's batch of NFL prospects.

Speaking with hosts Rich Eisen and Daniel Jeremiah, Beane brought up two critical points that'll shape Buffalo's offseason.

How will Buffalo's defense be rebuilt under Jim Leonhard?

"Jim [Leonhard]'s trying to make us a defense of multiplicity and trying to find as many 'position-less' players as you can have," Beane said of Leonhard, the new defensive coordinator who'll shift the Bills' defense from Sean McDermott's 4-3 to a 3-4 base scheme.

That statement can be connected to last season with the Denver Broncos, where he served as the assistant head coach and pass game coordinator. He helped a defense that had eight players with at least four sacks, an example of using as many contributors as possible.

The Bills' GM noted that Leonhard played in Buffalo before. The first-time NFL defensive coordinator played four seasons in Buffalo as a safety, so he knows what the atmosphere is like in Western New York.

"He's got a little stealth attitude to him," Beane said. However, a big need for Buffalo this offseason isn't as stealthy as Beane says Leonhard is.

How are the Bills evaluating wide receivers?

The first person Beane mentioned regarding receivers was Keon Coleman, who's faced a lot of scrutiny since McDermott's firing after a disappointing second season, but Brady's staff is confident in him.

"I think it's been good. We got a new wide receiver coach as well, Drew Terrell, that's very excited," Beane said. "Keon has said all the right things. He's been very accountable, he's never made excuses. We're all hands on deck. We're all gonna do our part."

Beane added that Terrell, offensive coordinator Pete Carmichael and the rest of the staff are ready to work with Coleman after watching tape of him. Still, Buffalo could stand to find receiver help in the draft.

Ohio State's Carnell Tate, who's projected to be an early-to-mid first-round selection in April's NFL Draft, did his 40-yard dash in front of Beane, and he prompted him to make a funny remark.

"He's pretty slow. Probably wouldn't take him early," Beane said in reaction to Tate's 4.54-second time, drawing laughs from Eisen and Jeremiah.

Buffalo has to find more targets for Josh Allen and reshape its defense if it wants to stay a contender in 2026, and Beane's insight could give an idea of what he'll do.