YOUNG NUCLEUS: How the Buffalo Bills RANK Against NFL Rivals in Rookie Contract Impact

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4.8 • 1.4K Ratings

🗓️ 18 February 2026

⏱️ 20 minutes

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Summary

Are the Buffalo Bills falling behind when it comes to getting big contributions from their young players? Joe Marino takes a hard look at how the Bills stack up against the rest of the NFL when it comes to rookie contracts—and the news isn't great. Find out why names like O'Cyrus Torrence, Dalton Kincaid, and Cole Bishop landed Buffalo just 23rd in the league for rookie deal impact, and what it means for the future. From the Eagles and Lions snagging top spots with breakout young stars to the AFC East's surprising rankings, Joe Marino unpacks where things stand and what has to change. Can GM Brandon Beane snap out of his draft funk? Is it time for the Bills to lean into trades or stick to developing their homegrown talent? Get the scoop on what's working, what's not, and what might come next for Buffalo.

Transcript

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0:00.0	When it comes to getting impact from players on rookie deals, how do the bills compare to the rest of the NFL?
0:07.5	We're exploring that now on Locked On Bills.
0:15.4	You are Locked on Bills, your daily Buffalo Bills podcast.
0:20.8	Part of the Locked on Podcast network, your team every day.
0:26.7	What's up, Bill's Mafia?
0:28.6	It's Joe Marino, author of the Heard Mentality Substack co-host of the Locked on NFL scouting
0:34.2	podcast, co-hosts of the NFL First Read podcast, and I'm your host of
0:38.6	Locked on Bills.
0:40.0	Lockdown Bills is a proud part of the Lockdown Podcast Network, now the number one sports
0:44.5	podcast network.
0:46.3	Well, folks, welcome in to this mini episode of Lockdown Bills.
0:51.2	And what I want to do is share with you the results of a project that I did with Kyle Crabs. And the intent of our project was to determine how teams across the NFL are doing when it comes to getting impact from players on rookie deals.
1:12.3	And so I also do a podcast with Kyle Crabs every day called Locked on NFL scouting.
1:20.3	And you can listen to it wherever you listen to this podcast.
1:24.4	And that podcast is about team building across the NFL. So if you would like to hear more of my
1:30.6	thoughts about the entire NFL, that would be the spot to go, locked on NFL scouting. And so
1:36.1	the last three days on that podcast, Kyle and I went through and we identified every team's
1:43.8	five best players that are on rookie
1:46.6	contracts. So players drafted 2023, 2024, 2025 to determine which teams have the best
1:56.8	young nucleus. And so step one is that we would figure out the five players that would represent
2:04.3	each team, and then we'd score them on a one to five scale per player and then add it up. And the way
2:12.1	that that methodology works is you get five points if you're already one of the best players in the
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