RESOLVING THE LEDGER
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See the full story · 1 sourcesThe Buffalo Bills are once again touching grass at St. John Fisher, and the roster they are putting on the field this August features some new faces joining others looking to break through to the next level of play during the 2026 NFL season.
DJ Moore and Bradley Chubb are the headline additions who join a fresh crop of rookies and free agency adds. Those new additions can help unlock opportunities for some of Buffalo's current players already on the roster who can turn a solid season into a career year, and be potential difference-makers between another playoff exit and a Super Bowl trip.
Here are five breakout candidates for Buffalo in 2026.
TE Dalton Kincaid
Kincaid's role has grown in importance to the passing game ever since the Bills made him the first tight end off the board in the 2023 draft. He rewarded that immediately with a 73-catch rookie season, but the production has been uneven since: an injury-marred 2024 and a 2025 season that saw him post 39 catches for 571 yards and 5 touchdowns in 12 games .
The numbers are not bad at all, but his ceiling is higher which is why there is still that expectation to continue to elevate his level of play. In 2026, with Moore commanding the defense's attention on the outside, James Cook still a matchup problem out of the backfield, and Khalil Shakir and Keon Coleman commanding coverage, Kincaid should see cleaner looks over the middle.
His 14.6 yards per catch in 2025 was actually a career high; the issue was volume and consistency as opposed to ability, and if he stays healthy with the passing game playing around his seams, the tight end position can develop into more of a third-down threat and red-zone mismatch.
CB Maxwell Hairston
The Bills drafted Maxwell Hairston in the first round to eventually start opposite Christian Benford, and the flashes he showed as a rookie — 2 interceptions in 11 games — are the reason the front office was comfortable moving on from their veteran depth at corner.
This despite his first season being interrupted by injury. He spent the offseason healthy, working with a secondary and defensive system that puts a premium on disguise and ball skills. Leonhard's 3-4 hybrid front forces quarterbacks to hold the ball longer, which rewards corners who can read route combinations and make plays on the football.
Hairston's athletic profile was the best in Buffalo's 2025 draft class. If he can clean up the penalties and stay on the field, he potentially has the highest ceiling of any young defender in the building to make a second-year leap.
WR Keon Coleman
The third-year Coleman leap has been one of the most frequent stories and questions in the NFL surrounding the Bills' offense. After a rookie year that showed flashes of contested-catch dominance and a sophomore season that produced 38 catches for 404 yards and 4 touchdowns in 13 games , the conversation around Coleman has shifted from "potential" to "now or never."
Coleman's 2025 was hurt by drops and inconsistency, not to mention missing time due to off-field tardiness, but the underlying traits are still there. He is 6-foot-4, physical after the catch, and has shown he can win on back-shoulder and contested routes. What he has not done is separate consistently enough to earn a high target share in a crowded receiver room.
That changes if DJ Moore is the primary coverage magnet and Khalil Shakir continues to work underneath. Coleman should see more one-on-one opportunities on the outside, which is the very type of matchup he is built to win. A reasonable 2026 season and progression for him would make Buffalo's offense significantly harder to defend.
A real breakout could change the landscape for opposing defenses to prepare for.
DT T.J. Sanders
The 2025 draft class for Buffalo was supposed to be the infusion of young, cap-friendly talent that would keep the championship window open. T.J. Sanders was the big get of the second round: a 6-foot-4, 297-pound interior penetrator from South Carolina who could give Ed Oliver a running mate and give Leonhard a defensive tackle who could two-gap, stunt, and disrupt. Then a knee injury happened.
Sanders played in 12 games and made 2 starts as a rookie , but he was never fully back to form after the midseason knee issue. He shared this offseason that getting back to an "explosive" and "twitchy" version of himself was a mental hurdle as much as a physical one.
In Leonhard's base 3-4, Sanders projects as a traditional interior tackle with the lateral freedom to two-gap and the pass-rush ability to collapse the pocket. If Sanders is healthy in year two, he can be a missing piece that makes the front seven rotation sustainable across four quarters — and deep into January.
RB Ray Davis
Ray Davis has a role that keeps expanding. As a rookie, he carried 113 times for 442 yards and 3 touchdowns. In 2025, with James Cook firmly established as the lead back, Davis handled 58 carries for 275 yards in 17 games , averaging 4.7 yards per carry.
The efficiency is a strong point. Davis is a compact, downhill runner who does not need 20 touches to make an impact, but is also one who wants the ball more.
Using him as a short-yardage, third-down protector, and the back who keeps Cook fresh for the stretch run could be a significant way to meet that request as Davis enters his third season. A breakout does not mean a 1,000-yard season, necessarily, but more carries and shared workload as well as opportunities in the passing game could make Davis an optimal contributor and Ty Johnson a valuable trade chip.
This article originally appeared on Bills Wire: 5 breakout candidates for the Bills in 2026
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