Will Josh Allen and the Buffalo Bills ever reach the top of the NFL mountain?
In a playoff run that didn’t feature Patrick Mahomes, Lamar Jackson, or Joe Burrow, the door was as open as ever for Allen and co. to finally make it past the AFC Championship Game and reach the Super Bowl for the first-time since the franchise infamously lost four-straight bids at the Lombardi Trophy in 1991, 1992, 1993, and 1994.
While an AFC East team ultimately represented the conference in Super Bowl 60, it was the New England Patriots returning to glory in just their first season in the Mike Vrabel and Drake Maye era. While the Patriots fell short in the ‘Big Game’ to the Seattle Seahawks, it only took the Bills’ biggest rivals one season to punch their ticket to Super Bowl Sunday, something Allen, who turns 30 during the summer, will once again be aspiring to do in what’s expected to be a much more competitive conference in 2026.
Despite following up his MVP campaign with yet another impressive season, Allen didn’t have much help outside of running back, James Cook on the offensive side of the ball. With the 2024 NFL MVP’s weaponry consisting of the likes of Khalil Shakir, Josh Palmer, Dalton Kincaid, and Dawson Knox, it’s clear that Allen’s Superman-like efforts just aren’t enough to get over the hump when competing against the NFL’s elite.
In a proposed deal by ESPN’s Bill Barnwell, Allen gets his wish as the Bills are projected to part ways with their out-of-favor 2024 second-round pick, receiver Keon Coleman as well as the 26th overall selection in this upcoming April’s NFL Draft in exchange for Jacksonville Jaguars star wideout, Brian Thomas Jr.
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Thomas Jr.’s arrival in Buffalo would be a sight for Allen’s sore eyes as the former LSU star had an exhilarating rookie campaign in 2024, securing Pro Bowl honors after notching 1,282 receiving yards to go along with 10 touchdown receptions before injuries and an apparent falling out with first-year Jaguars head coach, Liam Coen muddied his future in Jacksonville, this past season.
For the Bills, Khalil Shakir led the club in receptions (72) and yards (719) in 2025. The second and third leading receivers for Allen were both of his tight ends in Dalton Kincaid and Dawson Knox, neither of which secured 40 catches or over 520 yards.
You have to go back to the 2023 season for the last time a Bills player reached the 1,000 receiving yards mark, when Stefon Diggs eclipsed the 1K mark each of the four seasons he played in western New York before departing for the Houston Texans in 2024, before the perennial Pro Bowl wideout ultimately ended up with the Bills’ divisional rivals and current AFC Champions, New England Patriots, this past season, where he once again hit the 1,000 yard mark.
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