July Mailbag, Part I: DJ Moore Effect, KOC's future, Lions CB plan, our draft hits/misses, journalism
And just like that, it's time for all of us to get back to the true *football* we love.
Good morning, readers! Thanks to everyone who submitted mailbag questions.
Excellent inquiries. I’ll break ‘em up into multiple parts again.
First up?
2026 revamped Bills roster… which change is the most significant?
KOC on the hot seat in Minnesota?
Re-jumbling the divisions. Fun with relegation.
Lions cornerback plans after Terrion Arnold disaster.
Two journalism questions.
Personal draft hits/misses.
NFL’s international future.
Also: Be sure to check out Isaiah McKenzie on the Happy Hour Replay if you’ve got a chance. He was remarkably candid, start to finish. More details coming soon, but our next guest will be longtime Bills center Eric Wood one week from today.
Welp, I guess we can turn down “Free Bird” on the dial. The USA’s World Cup run came to a screeching halt last night vs. Belgium. Bummer.
Back to our regular scheduled programming: American Football.
Do the Bills have the squad of players with the coaches on this roster to go all the way?
Jason Hoffman
Love a loaded question, J. Let’s cut to the chase for the 2026 Buffalo Bills because that’s clearly the expectation after the coaching change. The Super Bowl. Anyone who took this job certainly understood the stakes and I’d wager Brady grasps this reality better than anyone who interviewed for the gig because he’s been here since 2022. He’s accrued all playoff scars this side of 13 Seconds.
No. 1, as he detailed, Brady wants to sharpen the mentality of the team, 1 through 53, into more of an active, attacking, “they’ve got to play us” temperament than the passive, cautious, bend-don’t-break, “Kodak” timeout crew that too often snatched defeat from the jaws of victory. He brought up his first meeting with the offense as offensive coordinator in 2023. Ahead of that Jets game, Brady didn’t even mention stars like Sauce Gardner and Quinnen Williams to the players because he didn’t want them overthinking the opponent. I like it. Why make anyone out to be a boogeyman? Coaches obviously will still construct a gameplan to exploit weaknesses, etc. But the Bills should strut into playoff games with more bravado.
That being said, yes. Personnel changes were needed. Personnel changes were made. Let’s get to the meat of your inquiry.
Here’s how I’d power rank the three most significant changes to the starting lineup.