Bills’ Defensive Depth Chart Is Wide Open Ahead of Panthers Preseason Opener

The Buffalo Bills have wrapped two weeks of 2026 training camp in Rochester and held an open practice at their new home stadium. Now they get set to host the Carolina Panthers in a preseason opener at Highmark Stadium on Saturday, August 15. Two weeks in, the biggest story out of camp isn’t on offense — it’s how unsettled the Bills defense depth chart looks under first-year coordinator Jim Leonhard.

Josh Allen is still Josh Allen. The offensive line is mostly set, save for a late battle at left guard. The receiver room is still sorting itself out behind DJ Moore and Khalil Shakir. But it’s the defense that has given Bills Mafia the most to chew on this summer, as Leonhard tears down Sean McDermott’s long-running scheme and rebuilds it from scratch.

Leonhard is scrapping the old defense — and the old depth chart with it

Everyone knew coming into camp that Leonhard was moving Buffalo away from McDermott’s 4-3 Cover 2 look toward a more attacking, simulated-pressure 3-4. What’s turned into the real surprise is how far that shift is reaching into personnel. Instead of tweaking a scheme players already knew, Leonhard is treating almost every spot on defense as an open competition.

ESPN’s Ben Solak spent time watching Bills camp and counted more than 20 different defensive players rotating through first-team reps. According to ClutchPoints, Solak said the Bills “are throwing everyone at the wall right now defensively and seeing what sticks,” adding that even veterans such as Christian Benford and Greg Rousseau have played their entire careers inside McDermott’s static system and are now adjusting on the fly.

That’s a notable departure. Buffalo’s defense had been one of the more stable units in football for the better part of a decade. Leonhard clearly isn’t assuming anyone’s job is safe just because of a track record in the old scheme — which is exactly why the two-deep looks so different than most people expected heading into camp.

Offense is basically set; defense is anything but

Two weeks into camp, Buffalo’s offensive picture is close to finalized. Ten of 11 starting spots are effectively locked in, and if Alec Anderson holds off competition at left guard, that group could be settled entirely before the preseason opener.

The defense tells a completely different story. Entering camp, the expectation was that Buffalo had maybe two real openings — middle linebacker and the second safety spot next to breakout starter Cole Bishop. Instead, per ClutchPoints, it’s shaping up as seven or more genuine position battles as Leonhard and offensive coordinator Joe Brady near the first preseason game.

Buffalo’s PR department released its first unofficial depth chart ahead of the Panthers game this week. The graphic itself isn’t full of shockers, but it does map out exactly where the battles for playing time will be decided over the next month.

Breaking down the position battles, spot by spot

Cole Bishop is the unquestioned safety after a breakout 2025 campaign, but the job next to him remains unresolved. Free-agent signing Chauncey (C.J.) Gardner-Johnson is considered the favorite, though he’s been dealing with a leg injury for stretches of camp. Veterans Geno Stone and Sam Franklin Jr., along with rookie Jalon Kilgore, are all getting extended looks in his absence.

Cornerback is more settled at the top, with Christian Benford and Maxwell Hairston projected as the starting duo — but both have injury histories, which puts real weight on the CB4 and CB5 competition behind them. Dee Alford is expected to handle the nickel role, while rookie Davison Igbinosun is fighting off Torino Pride Jr. and Kani Walker for depth spots.

Inside linebacker might be the most fascinating battle in camp. Terrel Bernard and Dorian Williams currently sit atop the depth chart, but rookie fourth-round pick Kaleb Elarms-Orr has trended toward a starting role throughout camp reporting. Keonta Jenkins, an undrafted free agent from 2025, has also generated buzz as a potential fit for Leonhard’s system.

At outside linebacker, Gregory Rousseau and Bradley Chubb project as the top two, but Javon Solomon and rookie T.J. Parker are both pushing for real snaps, with Michael Hoecht and Mike Dana expected in the rotation regardless.

The interior defensive line is arguably the most intriguing group to watch this preseason. Ed Oliver, Deone Walker and T.J. Sanders are penciled in as the starting trio, but all three spent their careers as traditional 4-3 defensive tackles before this offseason’s scheme change. DeWayne Carter, Phidarian Mathis, Zane Durant and second-year lineman Landon Jackson — who bulked up and moved from edge to the interior this offseason — are all drawing real looks. Don’t be shocked if one of them, Jackson in particular, eventually pushes into Sanders’ current spot before Week 1 of the regular season.

Why this matters going into Saturday

None of this is settled by scheme alone — it comes down to fit. Leonhard’s 3-4 relies heavily on disguised pressure and players who can win in multiple gaps, which is a different demand than the read-and-react roles most of this roster grew up playing under McDermott. That’s the real reason so many bodies are cycling through first-team reps: Leonhard isn’t just installing a new playbook, he’s figuring out who on the current roster actually profiles for it.

Saturday’s preseason opener against Carolina at the new Highmark Stadium won’t decide most of these battles outright, but it will be the first live look at how these competitions are trending — especially at inside linebacker and along the interior line, where camp reporting suggests the biggest shakeups could be coming.