The Buffalo Bills have plenty of work to do in the 2026 offseason — led by the promotion for new head coach Joe Brady. Key positions to address within Brady’s offensive-leaning mind are predicted to be
wide receiver and interior offensive line. Those groups stand out as immediately glaring needs and areas the team needs to do a better job in complementing Josh Allen as he approaches his age-30 season.
However, the defensive side of the ball is an area that lacks talent across the board and needs its own level of attention provided. President of football operations/general manager Brandon Beane has his work cut out for him to get this unit up to snuff.
One of the bigger areas of concern is at linebacker. An aging Shaq Thompson who started a majority of the 2025 NFL season is a pending free agent and the same is true of lifelong Bills linebacker Matt Milano. One of the big extensions of the offseason was starting MIKE linebacker Terrel Bernard, who missed much of the season due to multiple injuries. Bernard never looked right throughout the year — appearing slowed by other underlying injuries or hesitations in his game.
The team has tons of uncertainty in the spine of their defense to figure out. Overall, linebacker and nickel cornerback felt like a weak point all season with journeymen working in as starters and a lot of reliance on young players and rookies.
NFL.com’s Daniel Jeremiah feels the Bills may address linebacker early in his latest mock. Jeremiah has Buffalo drafting Georgia linebacker CJ Allen at pick No. 26 overall. Allen is a MIKE linebacker through and through. His ability to play with strength and contact balance is a positive trait, as he rarely misses tackles. He may have some hip tightness, but Allen makes up for that with a great football mind and a respected Georgia coaching staff that raves about him as a true defensive quarterback.
Allen is ready-made to play in an NFL defense from day one. Georgia’s linebacker room is as competitive from a talent perspective as any in the country… and Allen is the leader of the room.
Jeremiah gave his thoughts about Allen’s fit in Buffalo:
“Linebacker could be a need for Buffalo with Matt Milano and Shaq Thompson ticketed for free agency. Allen can run and hit, but he also has the intangibles you want at the position. The Bills need to improve a defense that ranked 28th against the run.”
Allen still feels underrated. NFL front offices are sure to love him. The former top-50 overall recruit is likely to test like one come March if he chooses to workout and is likely to ace interviews and whiteboard sessions as a leader in a Kirby Smart defense.
This would be a home run pick for a Bills defense that desperately needs an alpha in their linebacker room. Allen fixes that and adds a potential blue-chip player (albeit at a “non-premium” position).
