At St. John Fisher University, there will be underrated Buffalo Bills players who string together multiple strong training camp practices en route to a buzz-generating summer.
This phenomenon happens every year at training camps across the NFL.
These are the underrated, bottom-half-of-the-roster Bills I expect to have quality camps which will be parlayed into larger roles during the 2026 season.
EDGE Javon Solomon
It’s now or never for Solomon who enters Year 3 after being selected by the Bills in the fifth round of the 2024
draft. Remember his collegiate campaign culminated with a 16-sack season Troy in 2023.
Solomon was always a strange fit as a defensive end in Sean McDermott’s defense, a scheme that prioritized size and length at the position, two clearly lacking aspects of Solomon’s physical profile — he’s listed at 6’1’ and 246 pounds.
But that frame is much closer to what Jim Leonhard presumably wants for the rush linebacker role in his scheme. He coached the 6’2”, 240-pound Nick Herbig at Wisconsin and was on the sidelines in Denver during the emergence of the 6’3, 248-pound Nik Bonitto.
Solomon has appeared on 12.1% and 19.8% of Buffalo’s defensive snaps in his first two seasons, and by now, he’s likely amassed NFL-caliber strength so he’s not as easily overwhelmed in the run game.
Then again, I believe Solomon’s splash plays in camp will come as one of the few designated pass rushers (on the outside) on Buffalo’s roster. Despite being on the small / short side for the position, Solomon’s arm length is in the 65th percentile for the EDGE position.
Do I expect Solomon to earn a starting rush linebacker gig after St. John Fisher University this summer? No. But this is when he makes enough of an impact there to earn spot duty as a pass-rush specialist in the regular season.
RB Ian Wheeler
Going out on a limb here, as I don’t know a ridiculous amount about Wheeler, and he was just added to the Bills roster in mid June.
I don’t adore the RB3 options currently on the Bills roster — and wrote a column about why I believe Ty Johnson should be Buffalo’s RB2 ahead of Ray Davis in 2026.
Frank Gore Jr. did catch a pass in the wild-card win over the Jaguars. I’m not quite ready to predict a giant leap forward for him as a runner.
I’m not completely done with Ray Davis, either. But close. I think his best path to contributing on the Bills is as a returner. Without a veteran signing or even a late-round draft selection at running back, Wheeler has as good of an opportunity to earn an eventual spot on a gameday roster as any mid-June acquisition.
Here’s the type of athlete the Bills got in Wheeler, who won the UFL United Bowl MVP just a few months ago:
Dude can scoot and has NFL-caliber juice once he touches the football.
I expect Wheeler to be a training camp all-star and accumulate plenty of yardage — often on chunk plays — during the third and fourth quarter of preseason games this August.
LB Joe Andreessen
Andreessen hasn’t been discussed enough in the (potential) open gig(s) at inside linebacker in Leonhard’s scheme. We all expect Terrel Bernard to land one of the those jobs. I like Dorian Williams to start Week 1 next to him.
But Andreessen has paid his dues on special teams, has been a preseason star for two seasons now, and is one of the most physically gifted linebackers on the roster at 6’1” and a hefty 240 pounds.
He’s the exact type of developmental project the Bills have cultivated many times during the Brandon Beane era, and I expect Buffalo’s defensive staff to give him opportunities to prove himself with the backups at some stages during training camp.
And I expect Andreessen to be up to the task.
With more condensed responsibilities between the tackles, Andreessen can more narrowly focus on attacking the football on run plays and disrupting the backfield when the opposing quarterback drops back to pass.
We all remember Andreessen erupting onto the scene in August 2024 en route to making the 53-man roster as a UDFA from Lancaster and University at Buffalo.
I envision Andreessen’s name being mentioned as a stock-up player in many training camp recaps this summer. He’s ready.
TE Jackson Hawes
Anyone else feel a mini-breakout looming for Hawes in Year 2? The run-down monster quietly averaged 1.82 yards per route run on 102 routes as a rookie. And, sure, the low sample size much be considered with that elite-level figure, but it does hint at receiving promise for the devastating blocker.
Of course, Hawes has mainstays Dalton Kincaid and Dawson Knox ahead of him on the tight end depth chart, yet if the Bills decide to limit Kincaid’s workload, Hawes will be taking plenty of reps with the No. 1 offense.
Heck, he played on 43% of the snaps in his rookie season. Could that number eclipse 50% in 2026? Absolutely… even if Kincaid stays reasonably healthy. Hawes should demonstrate enough athleticism and sure-handedness in camp to garner more looks in the pass game — mostly underneath — when the games actually count.
Plus, his presence on the field won’t telegraph Buffalo’s play intentions as much as Kincaid.
While league rules don’t allow much physicality in training camp anymore, Hawes’ true strength won’t be on full display in Pittsford.
The noise he makes will be as a receiver, and that’s where the most potential growth resides for this soon-to-be 26-year-old tight end.
S/NCB/LB Wande Owens
In May, I wrote on my fascination with Owens because he was a 2025 undrafted free agent who was injured for his rookie season but the team decided to retain him for his second NFL season.
Probably because he’s a spectacular athlete. These were Owens’ numbers at his pro day before the 2025 NFL Draft:
40-Yard Dash: 4.58 seconds (41st percentile)
10-Yard Split: 1.53 seconds (69th)
Vertical: 43 inches (98th)
Broad Jump: 135 inches(97th)
Three-Done: 6.99 seconds (53rd)
Short-Shuttle: 4.05 seconds (87th)
At Yale and New Hampshire Owens aligned free safety, strong safety, linebacker, and nickel corner at 5’11” and 205 pounds. He’s another player who may very well benefit from the defensive overhaul which is almost guaranteed to include a new role under Leonhard’s watchful eye.
It’ll likely be during the second and third team periods, but I expect Owens to be a magnet to the football in those sessions because of his athleticism, instincts, and tackling reliability.
