The Buffalo Bills underwent an off-season of unusually significant change after they were eliminated in the Divisional Round of the playoffs last year, ousting long-time head coach Sean McDermott and moving to a new stadium for the first time in over 50 years.
The 2026 Bills will feature Joe Brady as the lead voice in his first try as a head coach in the NFL after spending the past two seasons as Buffalo’s offensive coordinator. Brady and the Bills will play in the new Highmark Stadium after their previous stadium, which had stood since 1973 and was the third-oldest stadium in use in the NFL, was torn down.
Star left tackle Dion Dawkins is confident that these changes can help the Bills reach new heights in the upcoming campaign. Dawkins joined OverDrive on TSN1050 on Thursday to discuss the new stadium, early thoughts on Brady and his expectations for the season.
“The new stadium is elite,” Dawkins said. “When I say elite, it’s almost like getting a brand-new diamond ring. If your wife or significant other seen a diamond ring for the first time and it was like five carats and she’s like ‘holy smokes,’ that’s what the stadium is kind of like.”
The previous Highmark Stadium had some old-school charm, but a lot of the design choices of the stadium (many of which magnified the facility’s age) were not loved by the players. Bills superstar quarterback Josh Allen said an upgrade was “long-needed here in Western New York,” earlier in August.
“We’re talking about... when it comes to college facilities, you’re talking about like an Alabama, an LSU, a Georgia - this is like that, but in the NFL category, it’s just unreal,” Dawkins said of the new stadium. “When I walked in there and it was like the gameday vibe, I said ‘man, this is what the NFL is supposed to feel like.’ I’m in year 10 and I’m finally saying that.
“Our old stadium... it was pretty old, man, and this one is far from it.”
The Bills qualified for the playoffs for a seventh consecutive season a year ago, falling to the Denver Broncos in the Divisional Round in overtime. In nine seasons under McDermott, the team won 98 games, qualified for the postseason eight times and won the AFC East division five times.
Dawkins, a five-time Pro Bowler, spent his entire career under McDermott to this point. The first training camp under a new head coach was different for the former second-round draft pick.
“It’s more of a... put the ball down type of mindset,” Dawkins said, describing the mindset Brady brings to the team in practice. “It’s like just put the ball down and we’re just going to go after it. Put two Tasmanian Devils as the offence and defence in the ring and we’re just going to scrap it out. We’re gonna be physical, we’re gonna be tougher, we’re going to be the more conditioned team, and we’re going to play harder.
“It’s been a tough camp, it’s been consistently tough, so [Brady’s] not letting his foot off the pedal when it comes to that tough mindset. McDermott had us gritty too, but this feels a little more... younger gritty.”
The key this season, as with any season in Buffalo over the past eight years, is protecting their former MVP quarterback. Allen has finished in the top five in MVP voting five times over the past six seasons, including winning the award following the 2024 campaign.
Dawkins is never shy about praising the franchise icon, as the two have been key to the most successful run of the 21st century for the often-beleaguered franchise.
“When it comes to myself and it comes to the thought of Josh Allen, we are all who we are in a lot of sense because of Josh Allen. If he wasn’t good then the [offensive] line wouldn’t be able to talk on interviews and have a little pep in their step, have a little confidence,” Dawkins said. “Josh is our Mecca, and we go as far as he goes, right? If Josh isn’t playing well then they’re going to look at the O-line or who’s not helping him be great. I don’t want to be in that category, ever.
“So when it comes to protecting Josh, we keep everyone far, far away. One because we like our life, two because we like our contracts and three because we want to win a Super Bowl. When it comes to Josh Allen, keep the hell away from the kid, and these guys know it here. If you want the fastest way out of One Bills Drive, go ahead, touch Josh Allen.”
The Bills also made some big changes to the team in the off-season in the form of acquiring wide receiver D.J. Moore from the Chicago Bears in a trade and bringing in Jim Leonhard to be the new defensive coordinator. Leonhard was an assistant head coach with the Broncos last season and spent the past two years with the Broncos helping coach a defence that finished third in points allowed each year.
Dawkins is very confident that the changes will help push a unit that has won at least one game in the playoffs in six consecutive years but has still yet to play in a Super Bowl.
He was blunt when asked how close the team is to a Super Bowl appearance this year.
“How many weeks away is it from the Super Bowl? However many weeks away we are from the Super Bowl, that’s how far away we are,” Dawkins said.
“We have Joe Brady. We have Josh Allen. We have Dion Dawkins. We have James Cook. We got D.J. Moore. We got Keon [Coleman]. We got a team. Whenever we can spell out that name, t-e-a-m, we got a chance. Every year we got a chance, and sometimes that chance is all you need, but we will see. Hopefully ... from what I’ve been watching, we have exactly what it takes. We’re gonna shoot for the stars and honestly whatever’s passed stars.”
