2024 Fantasy Football Draft Prep: Buffalo Bills player outlooks, schedule, depth chart and more to know

The Bills faced significant losses this offseason, fueling doubts about their Super Bowl prospects. Departures like Stefon Diggs and Gabe Davis left notable gaps, placing more reliance on franchise quarterback Josh Allen. GM Brandon Beane made efforts to address roster gaps, yet the effectiveness of these moves in replacing key offensive figures remains uncertain.  

Below the CBS Sports Fantasy staff will take a look into the Bills' entire team outlook including changes to the top of the depth chart that matter for Fantasy, a burning question for Fantasy Football managers that needs to be answered, a review of their draft class, strength of schedule, and individual player outlooks for all of the notable Bills players who may end up on your Fantasy rosters.

Fantasy Football Today Newsletter

Know What Your Friends Don't

Get tips, advice and news to win your league - all from the FFT podcast team.

I agree to receive the "Fantasy Football Today Newsletter" and marketing communications, updates, special offers (including partner offers), and other information from CBS Sports and the Paramount family of companies.

By pressing sign up, I confirm that I have read and agree to the Terms of Use and acknowledge Paramount's Privacy Policy.

See All Newsletters

Please check the opt-in box to acknowledge that you would like to subscribe.

Thanks for signing up!

Keep an eye on your inbox.

Sorry!

There was an error processing your subscription.

Bills 2024 lineup changes

Burning question: How quickly will Keon Coleman acclimate?

The transition from college football to the NFL is vast, and Coleman must make a smooth adjustment for the Bills to compete this season. Coleman, Khalil Shakir and Curtis Samuel are likely to serve as the team's primary wide receivers, but Coleman stands out as the one with the potential to emerge as Josh Allen's top target. Following his selection by Buffalo, Coleman sought advice from former Bills great and Hall of Fame wide receiver Andre Reed, who expressed to him the importance of the receiver-quarterback relationship. With insights from these discussions, Coleman aims for early productivity in his NFL journey.  

2024 NFL Draft class

Bills 2024 schedule

Bills 2024 player outlooks

By Heath Cummings and CBS Fantasy staff

QB Josh Allen

Allen has been the best quarterback in Fantasy Football for the past four seasons, but he's not our consensus No. 1 QB in 2024. This offseason the Bills lost Stefon Diggs and Gabe Davis from their receiving corps and replaced them with Keon Coleman, Curtis Samuel, and Marquez Valdes-Scantling. They also retained Joe Brady as their offensive coordinator. Under Brady, Allen averaged 2.5 fewer pass attempts and 18 fewer pass yards per game. That didn't matter last year, because Allen ran for 15 touchdowns, but we don't want to count on any QB repeating that type of outlier season. Allen is worthy of consideration after the first quarterback is selected in your Fantasy draft, but don't reach for him this year. He is only worth a Round 1 pick in leagues where you can start more than one quarterback.

QB Mitchell Trubisky

Trubisky is back with Buffalo this season, where he'll once again be the backup to Josh Allen. Trubisky is not worth drafting in the majority of leagues. He spent 2021 in Buffalo as the backup to Allen before spending the past two seasons in Pittsburgh. The last time Trubisky was a consistent Fantasy option was in 2020 in Chicago, but now he'll need an Allen injury to be Fantasy-relevant again. If that happens then just add Trubisky off the waiver wire.  

RB James Cook

Cook took a big leap in 2023 and may be in line for another in 2024. That's because the Bills retained Joe Brady, who turned Cook into a true workhorse back in the second half of last season. In his final seven regular season games, Cook averaged 19.2 touches, 104.3 yards, and just over 16 PPR Fantasy points per game. He touched the ball exactly 22 times in each of the Bills' two playoff games. The negative, if there was one, was that Cook only scored two rushing touchdowns for the second year in a row. If he ever has a normal touchdown season, Cook could produce like a first-round pick. For now, we're comfortable drafting him as a top-10 back as early as Round 2.  

RB Ray Davis

Davis is our pick to be the backup to James Cook this year, which makes him worthy of a pick in the double-digit rounds of most redraft leagues. The rookie is a thick back with good speed and a variety of moves in the open field. He showed good receiving chops, catching 32 passes in his final year in college. If Davis' strength and elusiveness earns him a goal line role, it's possible he could become flexworthy in 2023. More likely, he's waiting on an injury to Cook to become Fantasy relevant. In Dynasty, Davis gets dinged because he's an older prospect and seems unlikely to take a starting job away from Cook any time soon. You can consider him as early as Round 3 in rookie drafts.  

RB Frank Gore Jr.

Gore Jr. will battle with Ray Davis for the backup running back job in Buffalo behind James Cook. Despite his pedigree, we're expecting Davis to win that battle and are not drafting Gore in most redraft leagues. However, the slightest bit of buzz in training camp could change that. Gore is slightly smaller than Davis and slower as well, but he may be better inside the tackles, he's two years younger, and he has a good receiving profile. For now, consider him in Dynasty leagues only, and only after Round 3 in that format, but be ready for him to surprise us as his dad did so many times in the past.

WR Keon Coleman

Coleman is worthy of a selection as early as Round 9 in full PPR redraft leagues. The rookie has a great opportunity in Buffalo with both Stefon Diggs and Gabe Davis departing. Coleman will battle Dalton Kincaid, Khalil Shakir, and Curtis Samuel for targets, with the winner providing a massive value at whatever their ADP is. Coleman has the best combination of size and speed in the receiving corps and should see regular snaps starting early in the season. While he didn't post huge numbers in college, he did outproduce Jayden Reed at Michigan State in 2022, when Coleman was just 20 years old. If he earns Josh Allen's trust he has a chance to produce like a top-20 wide receiver this season. In Dynasty leagues, we prefer Coleman in Round 2, but in a one-quarterback league you can start considering him as early as No. 10 overall.   

WR Khalil Shakir

Shakir is worthy of a selection as early as Round 10 in full PPR redraft leagues. With both Stefon Diggs and Gabe Davis out of Buffalo there is a big opportunity for all of the Bills pass-catchers but little clarity on the pecking order. For now, we're projecting Shakir to be behind tight end Dalton Kincaid and rookie Keon Coleman, but no one has any reason to feel confident about that projection. Shakir averaged an incredible 13.6 yards per target last year but only saw 45 targets in 17 games. He did score in both of the Bills' 2023 playoff games and led the team with 105 yards receiving in their must-win Week 18 game against the Dolphins. Draft him as a bench receiver knowing there's a ton of room for upside if Shakir is Josh Allen's top target this season.  

WR Curtis Samuel

Samuel joined the Bills this offseason and he'll battle Keon Coleman, Khalil Shakir, Marquez Valdes-Scantling, and others for targets in a wide-open wide receiver room. We're hoping the young guys win out, but Samuel has a fighter's chance and is worth a dart throw in the double-digit rounds. He earned 90-plus targets the past two seasons playing alongside Terry McLaurin and Jahan Dotson and earned even more playing next to D.J. Moore in Carolina. If no true No. 1 emerges, Samuel could see a career-high in targets from the best quarterback he's ever played with. When Samuel has been Fantasy relevant in the past he's been a part of the running game, with at least 130 rushing yards and a score in 2019, 2020 and 2022. Sean McDermott and Joe Brady trended towards the run in the second half last year, so Samuel could contribute there as well.

WR Marquez Valdes-Scantling

Valdes-Scantling will compete for playing time with the Bills this preseason. The 30-year-old has yet to record more than 690 yards through any of his six NFL seasons and has scored three or fewer touchdowns in five of those six. Though he's done a masterful job of playing with some of the league's best quarterbacks, which he'll do again with Josh Allen in Buffalo, he has never been a Fantasy staple and doesn't figure to be one now. He's only worth a very late-round pick in deeper Best Ball formats.

WR Chase Claypool

Claypool has played for more teams in the past two seasons (three) than he has touchdowns (two). The fact that he landed in Buffalo with Josh Allen, on a team that just lost Stefon Diggs and Gabe Davis, may give some people hope for the former second-round pick. We are not that optimistic and suggest that you leave Claypool on the waiver wire in all but the deepest of leagues. If he starts to make noise in the preseason, we can reconsider.  

TE Dalton Kincaid

The consensus at CBS is that Kincaid is worth a Round 5 pick as a top-six tight end, but there is a good chance someone in your league will be willing to reach on him. The former first-round pick just earned 91 targets in 16 games as a rookie and now has an enormous opportunity with both Stefon Diggs and Gabe Davis gone. Year 2 is a common breakout season for tight ends, and Kincaid has the situation to make it happen. He will need Dawson Knox to take a step back in the end zone so that he can improve on last year's touchdown total. Kincaid is a top-five tight end in Dynasty leagues right now and could leap to No. 1 at the position if he becomes Allen's top target this season.  

TE Dawson Knox

As long as Dalton Kincaid stays healthy, we expect Knox to be an afterthought in Fantasy Football this season. As such, we're not rostering him in the majority of Fantasy leagues. But Knox does have 17 touchdowns in his last 42 games and is a favorite of Allen's, and the Bills are short on experienced pass catchers. It's possible Knox is a thorn in Kincaid's side in the red zone, if nothing more. If Kincaid misses time, be ready to pounce on Knox as one of the best weekly streamers, maybe more.  

K Tyler Bass

Bass is a consensus top-eight kicker worthy of a selection in the final two rounds of Fantasy drafts. Last year was a bit of a down year in terms of accuracy, but Bass has made at least 82% of his field goals and at least 96% of his extra points every season of his career. He kicks for a high-powered offense that should provide plenty of scoring opportunities. The only downside for Bass is that he has two home games in the Fantasy playoffs in December. That could provide a truly terrible kicking environment and a low scoring game.

Bills DST

The Bills defense is a starting unit worthy of a draft pick in the final two rounds on Draft Day. The team added safety Cole Bishop (Round 2) and defensive tackle DeWayne Carter (Round 3) in the 2024 NFL Draft and have veteran linebacker Matt Milano coming back after playing just five games last season. The Bills did lose Tre'Davious White and Jordan Poyer to free agency, so the back end of the defense could be a bit of a concern. Don't reach for this defense and don't plan on holding them against tough matchups, but they should rank as a top-12 option at home in Week 1 against Arizona.