Latest NFL Defensive Rankings Suggests Bills Failed to Fix Major Concern

A new ranking of every defense in the NFL suggests that the Buffalo Bills improved parts of their defense, but not the one area they should have focused on.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers running back Sean Tucker runs the ball against Buffalo Bills linebacker Dorian Williams. | Gregory Fisher-Imagn Images

Buffalo Bills general manager Brandon Beane once again focused on improving his team's defense during the offseason.

While he traded for wide receiver DJ Moore, most of his moves were all about defense. He signed outside linebacker Bradley Chubb, cornerback Dee Alford, and safeties C.J. Gardner-Johnson and Geno Stone.

In the draft, the defensive additions continued with T.J. Parker and Davison Igbinosun being selected with their first two picks. All of that should lead to some improvement, but the problem is that Beane might not have adequatley addressed the team's biggest weakness.

While ranking every team's defense after the draft, Bleacher Report's Gary Devenport has Buffalo ranked 13th. While he praised them for being strong in certain areas, he says their run defense held them back, and could be an issue again in 2026.

"The reason is a run defense that was, well, bad. Buffalo surrendered 136.2 yards per game on the ground—fifth-most in the league," Davenport wrote.

"It's fair to wonder how much better that run defense will be in 2026. The Bills bolstered the pass rush with the addition of edge-rusher Bradley Chubb and made several additions to the secondary in the likes of veterans Geno Stone and C.J. Gardner-Johnson and rookie cornerback Davison Igbinosun, but the run defense looks a lot like last year's team."

Bills defense was awful in short-yardage situations

Cleveland Browns running back Trayveon Williams is chased down by Buffalo Bills defenders. | Ken Blaze-Imagn Images

Looking at the overall stats is bad enough when it comes to the Bills' run defense, but it's even worse when you look at their work in short-yardage situations.

Warren Sharp broke down every team's stats on third-and-short situations, and the Bills were the second worst in the NFL at stopping the opposing offense, giving up the first down on 79 percent of the plays.

Those are the type of plays that win games, and while the Bills have been able to find a way to win the majority of their games, they still find themselves struggling to pull off the most important victories. If Davenport's concerns prove true, this could be an issue once again in 2026.

Jim Leonhard's history should give Bills hope

Wisconsin head coach Jim Leonhard, center, is shown during the first quarter of a game. | Mark Hoffman / USA TODAY NETWORK

The one reason Bills fans should have hope that the run defense can still improve in 2026 is the presence of Jim Leonhard. The new defensive coordinator spent the past two seasons with the Denver Broncos as the Defensive backs coach and pass game coordinator in 2024 and the assistant head coach and pass game coordinator in 2025.

While he didn't oversee the entire defense, he's going to bring a similar scheme to Buffalo. That scheme was elite against the run over the past two seasons, finishing third in yardage in 2024 and second in 2025.

A defense needs more than just a coach to turn things around, but Leonhard was a part of a very successful defense and this unit is being built to his liking. Hopefully, that means they will be better against the run than it seems.

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