Brandon Beane’s 2026 Offseason:
The Coaching Overhaul
After nine seasons, eight playoff appearances, and zero Super Bowls, Sean McDermott was fired on January 19. Owner Terry Pegula kept Beane in place and tasked him with finding the next head coach.
Joe Brady, Buffalo’s offensive coordinator, was promoted to head coach on a five-year deal. Jim Leonhard as defensive coordinator
MAFIA DEN GRADE: B+ | Big Risk / Big Reward
Cap Gymnastics
Restructures on Josh Allen (~$12M saved), DJ Moore (~$17.7M saved), Spencer Brown, and Ed Oliver. Dawson Knox signed a new 3-year/$20M deal, and Tyler Bass took a pay cut.
MAFIA DEN GRADE: B- | Still rank towards the bottom of the league with $9,808,203 in available cap space
Key Additions
Bradley Chubb | EDGE | 3 years, $43.5M
DJ Moore | WR | via trade (Bears)
C.J. Gardner-Johnson | S | 1 year, $3.5M
Dee Alford | CB | 3 years, $15.75M
Connor McGovern | C | Re-signed, 4 years, $52M
Also added: QB Kyle Allen (backup), S Geno Stone, G Austin Corbett, C Lloyd Cushenberry III, and WR Trent Sherfield (returned).
Mafia Den Grade: B+ | Good trade for Moore, but CAP situation forced “hope” signings
Notable Departures
A significant defensive turnover defined the offseason. Gone are: Joey Bosa, Matt Milano, Shaq Thompson, Jordan Poyer, Tre’Davious White, DaQuan Jones, Larry Ogunjobi, Brandin Cooks, Gabe Davis, and Taron Johnson (traded to Las Vegas for a 6th-round pick). Taylor Rapp was released after failing a physical, and Curtis Samuel and Dane Jackson were also cut.
Mafia Den Grade: A+ | Made tough decisions and realized failed signings
The 2026 Draft (7 trades, 10 picks)
With no first-round pick, Beane wheeled and dealed his way to one of the draft’s busier weekends.
| Pick | Player | Position | School |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2nd (35) | T.J. Parker | EDGE | Clemson |
| 2nd (62) | Davison Igbinosun | CB | Ohio State |
| 4th (102) | Jude Bowry | OT/G | Boston College |
| 4th (125) | Skyler Bell | WR | UConn |
| 4th (126) | Kaleb Elarms-Orr | LB | TCU |
| 5th (167) | Jalon Kilgore | S | South Carolina |
| 5th (181) | Zane Durant | DT | Penn State |
| 7th (220) | Toriano Pride Jr. | CB | Missouri |
| 7th (239) | Tommy Doman Jr. | P | Florida |
| 7th (241) | Ar’maj Reed-Adams | OG | Texas A&M |
Parker (ranked No. 27 by NFL Media) and Bell (PFF’s No. 60 prospect, taken at 125) were widely viewed as steals. Igbinosun brings press-man size and physicality to replace secondary depth, and Elarms-Orr posted the highest PFF grade of the entire class (84.4) at TCU.
Mafia Den Grade: B | Beane and Front Office does their best work in the mid to late rounds and no exception this year. Skyler Bell and Kaleb Elarms-Orr could potentially be the gems of the class.