{"id":970417,"date":"2026-08-11T16:51:20","date_gmt":"2026-08-11T16:51:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/970417\/"},"modified":"2026-08-11T16:51:20","modified_gmt":"2026-08-11T16:51:20","slug":"grok-projects-the-buffalo-bills-depth-chart-ahead-of-their-preseason-opener-against-the-carolina-panthers-on-saturday","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/970417\/","title":{"rendered":"Grok projects the Buffalo Bills’ depth chart ahead of their preseason opener against the Carolina Panthers on Saturday"},"content":{"rendered":"

\t\t\t\t\t\tHome<\/a><\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\/<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tNFL<\/a><\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\/<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tBuffalo Bills<\/a><\/p>\n

The Buffalo Bills will be back on the grass, and against a different opponent for the first time all year this weekend. Before we get there, however, let\u2019s take a look at what the Bills\u2019 depth chart may look like. <\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\"Bills
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tBills quarterback Josh Allen throws during position drills during the final day of Buffalo Bills training camp at St. John Fisher University Friday, August 7, 2026 in Pittsford.
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tShawn Dowd\/Rochester Democrat an \/ USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images<\/p>\n

Buffalo Bills<\/a> football is finally back. For the first time since the playoffs, Bills Mafia will be able to cheer on their team, and there is plenty to be excited about. New faces <\/a>on offense like DJ Moore<\/a>,<\/a> a new head man in Joe Brady<\/a>, and plenty of rookies are building anticipation<\/a>. <\/p>\n

But before we get there, let\u2019s simulate what the depth chart might look like, using our friend Grok. <\/p>\n

Bills 2026 preseason schedule <\/p>\n

Week 1: vs. Carolina Panthers (Saturday, 8\/15).<\/p>\n

Week 2: @ Cleveland Browns (Saturday, 8\/22).<\/p>\n

Week 3: vs. Pittsburgh Steelers (Thursday, 8\/27). <\/p>\n

Buffalo Bills projected depth chart ahead of Preseason Week 1<\/p>\n

This is a composite projection based on the most recent available depth charts (NBC Sports, Ourlads as of early August), the active roster (as of ~Aug. 10), training camp reports, first-team\/nickel reps, and position battle notes. Official depth charts can shift with practice participation, minor injuries, and preseason evaluations. Starters are largely set; several depth spots (especially LG, CB, ILB, and WR5+) remain competitive. Tyrell Shavers is on PUP (knee) and is expected to miss the early part of the regular season.<\/p>\n

Offense<\/p>\n

QB<\/p>\n

Josh Allen<\/p>\n

Kyle Allen<\/p>\n

Shane Buechele<\/p>\n

RB<\/p>\n

James Cook<\/p>\n

Ty Johnson<\/p>\n

Ray Davis<\/p>\n

Frank Gore Jr.<\/p>\n

Ian Wheeler<\/p>\n

FB<\/p>\n

Ben VanSumeren<\/p>\n

Jackson Acker<\/p>\n

WR (X\/LWR)<\/p>\n

DJ Moore<\/p>\n

Keon Coleman<\/p>\n

Trent Sherfield \/ Quentin Skinner (depth; Shavers on PUP)<\/p>\n

WR (Slot\/SWR)<\/p>\n

Khalil Shakir<\/p>\n

Skyler Bell (rookie 4th-rounder; working into the mix)<\/p>\n

Stephen Gosnell \/ Mac Dalena \/ Max Tomczak<\/p>\n

WR (Z\/RWR)<\/p>\n

Joshua Palmer<\/p>\n

Mecole Hardman<\/p>\n

Dante Pettis \/ Ja\u2019Mori Maclin<\/p>\n

(Top group typically Moore, Shakir, Coleman, Palmer; Bell is rising and competing for the No. 5\/6 role. Hardman and Sherfield bring return\/special-teams value.)<\/p>\n

TE<\/p>\n

Dalton Kincaid<\/p>\n

Dawson Knox<\/p>\n

Jackson Hawes<\/p>\n

Keleki Latu \/ Shane Zylstra<\/p>\n

OL<\/p>\n

LT: Dion Dawkins | Jude Bowry | Chase Lundt<\/p>\n

LG: Alec Anderson (early first-team looks) | Austin Corbett | Nick Broeker<\/p>\n

C: Connor McGovern | Lloyd Cushenberry | Bruno Fina<\/p>\n

RG: O\u2019Cyrus Torrence | Sedrick Van Pran-Granger | Ar\u2019maj Reed-Adams<\/p>\n

RT: Spencer Brown | Tylan Grable | Da\u2019Metrius Weatherspoon<\/p>\n

(Starting five is largely settled with Dawkins-Anderson-McGovern-Torrence-Brown; Corbett is pushing hard at LG.)<\/p>\n

Defense (leaning 3-4 base under new DC Jim Leonhard)<\/p>\n

DL<\/p>\n

LDE\/DE: T.J. Sanders | Landon Jackson | Travis Clayton \/ Kody Huisman<\/p>\n

DT: Ed Oliver | Zane Durant | Tommy Akingbesote<\/p>\n

NT: Deone Walker | DeWayne Carter | Phidarian Mathis \/ Zion Logue<\/p>\n

EDGE\/OLB<\/p>\n

LOLB: Greg Rousseau | T.J. Parker (rookie) | Mike Danna \/ Cade Denhoff<\/p>\n

ROLB: Bradley Chubb | Michael Hoecht | Javon Solomon \/ Andre Jones Jr.<\/p>\n

ILB<\/p>\n

MLB: Terrel Bernard | Kaleb Elarms-Orr (rookie; rising) | Jimmy Ciarlo \/ Otis Reese<\/p>\n

WLB: Dorian Williams | Keonta Jenkins | Joe Andreessen \/ Theron Gaines<\/p>\n

(Bernard is the clear starter; Williams and Elarms-Orr are battling for the second ILB role and nickel packages.)<\/p>\n

CB<\/p>\n

LCB: Christian Benford | Kani Walker (UDFA rising) | Toriano Pride Jr. \/ D.J. Miller<\/p>\n

RCB: Maxwell Hairston | Davison Igbinosun | Jordan Dunbar<\/p>\n

Nickel\/NB: Dee Alford | Jordan Hancock | Te\u2019Cory Couch<\/p>\n

(Recent nickel first-team reps: Benford + Igbinosun outside with Alford in the slot when Hairston has been limited. Outside CB competition remains open.)<\/p>\n

S<\/p>\n

SS: C.J. Gardner-Johnson | Damar Hamlin | Jalon Kilgore (rookie)<\/p>\n

FS: Cole Bishop | Geno Stone | Sam Franklin Jr.<\/p>\n

(Bishop and Gardner-Johnson are the projected starters.)<\/p>\n

Special Teams<\/p>\n

K: Tyler Bass<\/p>\n

P: Tommy Doman | Mitch Wishnowsky<\/p>\n

LS: Reid Ferguson<\/p>\n

KR: Ray Davis \/ Ty Johnson \/ Mecole Hardman \/ Skyler Bell<\/p>\n

PR: Khalil Shakir \/ Mecole Hardman \/ Keon Coleman \/ Skyler Bell<\/p>\n

Preseason Week 1 Notes<\/p>\n

This is the first game at the new Highmark Stadium. Expect starters (especially on offense with Josh Allen) to see limited snaps (typical for Week 1 preseason), with heavy evaluation of backups, rookies (Bell, Elarms-Orr, Parker, Igbinosun, Kilgore, Bowry, etc.), and bubble players.<\/p>\n

Panthers plan to play their starters (including Bryce Young) for ~10\u201320 snaps.<\/p>\n

Depth chart battles to watch in this game and the rest of camp: LG (Anderson vs. Corbett), outside CB (Hairston\/Igbinosun), second ILB, WR5\/6 (Bell vs. Hardman\/Sherfield), and special-teams contributors.<\/p>\n

Projections will firm up after this game and the next two (at Browns, vs. Steelers). Sources include NBC Sports\/Ourlads depth charts, Wikipedia roster (Aug. 10), camp reports and recent practice notes.<\/p>\n

\"Play<\/a><\/p>\n

\t\t\t\"Buffalo\t\t<\/p>\n

Buffalo Bills News<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\tA forgotten Buffalo Bills player could be more important in 2026 than anyone realizes\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a><\/p>\n

A player that\u2019s flown under the radar could end up being one of the Buffalo Bills\u2019 most important pieces in 2026.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Home \/ NFL \/ Buffalo Bills The Buffalo Bills will be back on the grass, and against a…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":970418,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2075],"tags":[56603,53,235,260,2567,7,6,236],"class_list":["post-970417","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-carolina-panthers","tag-bills-news","tag-buffalo-bills","tag-carolina","tag-carolina-panthers","tag-carolinapanthers","tag-football","tag-nfl","tag-panthers"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nfl\/117077913723981026","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/970417","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=970417"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/970417\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/970418"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=970417"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=970417"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=970417"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}