5 players who Bills need to be great in 2020

The Bills are suddenly the trendy pick to win the AFC East in 2020. To make that happen, Sean McDermott needs these five guys to play great football.

Tom Brady’s decision to leave New England leaves the Bills with a golden opportunity to overtake the Patriots for the AFC East title in 2020. Buffalo will only need to improve modestly over the 10 wins they notched in 2019 to win the division.

The strength of Sean McDermott’s team will once again be on the defensive side of the football. The Bills finished second in the NFL in terms of point allowed last season. Holding opponents to just 16.2 points per game is a great way to stay in a lot of games.

The question facing the Bills is just how much progress their offense can make in 2020. The acquisition of wide receiver Stefon Diggs should give Josh Allen and the team’s passing game a significant boost. Buffalo’s offense is going to rival the Chiefs’ attack overnight, but it should improve from last year’s mediocre scoring average of 19.6 points per game.

Going from good to great is a big challenge in the NFL. If the Bills are going to make that leap the following five players need to have big years.

5. Dawson Knox

Adding Diggs to the receiving corps is going to open up a lot more opportunities for the other pass catchers on the Bills’ roster. In particular, Buffalo needs a tight end to step up and become a quality safety valve for Allen when plays start to break down.

Knox has to be that guy. The former Ole Miss standout only caught 28 passes in his rookie season, but the fact that he averaged 13.9 yards per catch illustrates what a weapon he can be for this offense. If Knox can boost his totals up to 50 catches for 600 yards or so it’s going to bode really well for Buffalo’s chances to win the division.