We'll see in time whether or not the Stefon Diggs absence, among many other veteran departures, will hurt the Buffalo Bills and if they regress in the AFC East. With the New York Jets getting Aaron Rodgers back and the Miami Dolphins still being a good team despite their flaws, the Buffalo Bills might be in line for a regression in 2024.
The Bills entered the offseason in a cap-crunch, and they since were forced to part with a slew of veteran players, and the most notable departure was trading Stefon Diggs to the Houston Texans, leaving Curtis Samuel as the current WR1 on the roster. While the defense is likely going to be fine and not a huge liability, the offense is worrisome right now.
The WR room is simply not nearly good enough, and you have to figure that the Bills will target one early. But overall, the Bills starting lineup and roster overall is just not that great. Could they be in line for a regression in 2024? It's very possible. From 2020-2023, QB Josh Allen had the pleasure of Stefon Diggs as his WR1.
With Diggs out of the picture, the biggest regression for Buffalo might just be from their QB and offense overall. In the two previous seasons without Diggs in Buffalo, Josh Allen threw for 5,163 yards, 30 touchdowns, 21 interceptions, a completion percentage below 60%, and a passer rating of 78.2.
Now yes, Allen was clearly still developing during the first two years, but he was still a horribly inefficient QB. And even over the last few years, Allen has thrown a whopping 47 interceptions. He throws 14 interceptions per 17 games across his six-year career thus far, and he's had Diggs for a majority of that career.
With Allen being turnover-prone already, what will that mean in 2024 without his best wide receiver? Sure, if the Bills draft a wide receiver and he turns out to be a stud, we might not need to have this conversation anymore, but man, I can't help but wonder how Josh Allen is going to play without a high-end pass-catcher.
The Buffalo Bills might be in line for a regression in the AFC East in 2024.