What Bills vs. Browns actually tells us about Buffalo’s current depth chart

ORCHARD PARK, NEW YORK - AUGUST 15: Alec Anderson #70 of the Buffalo Bills on the sideline against the Carolina Panthers at Highmark Stadium on August 15, 2026 in Orchard Park, New York. (Photo by Timothy T Ludwig/Getty Images) | Getty Images

Last week, I wrote an article that I will follow up on today. The premise of this article is that when and with whom" a player plays in the preseason is more indicative of their overall roster placement than their actual performance and should be monitored for predictive purposes. I will copy the into concept below:

Team-released preseason depth charts are mostly nonsense.

The teams wouldn't release them if the league didn't make them, and what they say is utilized more as PR and internal player motivation that it is anything else. If you really want to know in the preseason how a team views a player, you have to start with the WAWW Factor.

When and with whom (WAWW) a player plays in the preseason is far more indicative of their stance on the roster than how a player plays. If a depth cornerback absolutely crushes in in the last quarter of the final preseason game alongside a bunch of players who won't make the team, his fate is probably already sealed. The fact that he's playing great is wonderful; the fact that he's playing in the last quarter of the final preseason game in tandem with other players who likely won't make the team means he also won't likely make the team.

So what can the WAWW Factor from the preseason game versus the Cleveland Browns tell us about where certain players are located on the Buffalo Bills depth chart, especially at roster battle positions?

Kani Walker v Toriano Pride Jr. (outside CB4)

Last week, we saw Kani Walker come into the game later than Toriano Pride, Jr. We also saw Pride, not Walker, play on special teams. This was a footnote more than a flag plant because Walker was coming off a week when he missed practice, and I said we'd have to keep an eye on it this week.

We kept and eye on it, and it looks like a dead heat.

Walker came into the game earlier than Pride, Jr. (on the first play from scrimmage on defense, to be exact). Both CB4 candidates played until about the six minute mark of the fourth quarter. And both played on special teams.

From a WAWW Factor standpoint, it looks like a dead heat, which means predictive tie goes to the player who appears to have performed the best. If you made me do a 53-man roster projection right now, I'd put Kani Walker in the outside CB4 spot.

Keon Coleman and Joshua Palmer (WR3)

Null data set. Keon Coleman did not play due to injury, and Joshua Palmer didn't play as the otherwise WR3 because the skill position starters" all rested.

Kaleb Elarms-Orr (KEO) and Dorian Williams (LB2)

Last week, KEO was clearly treated as LB3, entering the game with the second unit and getting no overlap with incumbent ILB Dorian Williams.

That was not the case this week. KEO played the first defensive scrimmage snaps of the game and also special teams. And the end of the first half, Dorian Williams was still playing on defense and Elarms-Orr had already turned in his helmet for the day. It is interesting to note that Williams did not play any special teams snaps, but this LB2 battle looks more like an actual battle this week than it did last.

Alec Anderson and Austin Corbett (LG)

Anderson may be pulling ahead in the race to be the only starter on the Buffalo Bills offensive line who's not on a long-term contract. The carryover from the 2025 Bills team and the former jumbo lineman once again found himself on the field on the first offensive snap from scrimmage. He was also left the game in the first quarter, while Corbett played into the second.

Sedrick Van-Pran Granger and Lloyd Cushenberry (backup center)

The Bills weren't behaving like it was a competition last week, and that didn't change against the Browns. Sedrick Van-Pran Granger played almost the entire game, and Lloyd Cushenberry didn't play a single snap despite being healthy. Pack this one up folks; we may see Cushenberry week one against the Houston Texans if starter Connor McGovern isn't ready to go after a hamstring injury suffered a few weeks ago.

Trent Sherfield, Mecole Hardman, and Stephen Gosnell (WR6)

Sherfield entered the earliest out of the three (on offense), exited the earliest, and played teams as one would expect. Hardman was next up in the from scrimmage enter/exit" category, then Gosnell. Combined with the plays Sherfield made in the passing game, I'm still inclined to believe it's his roster spot, but I remain less clear on it than other positions. The caveat here is that if rookie Skyler Bell isn't able to make it for week one of the regular season, the Bills may decide to only keep five wide receivers. They may also keep six and two of Sherfield/Hardman/Gosnell make it temporarily.

Maxwell Hairston and Davison Igbinosun (CB2)

Cornerback Maxwell Hairston returned to practice this week but the ostensibly-healthy 2025 first round pick didn't play against Cleveland, while 2026 second rounder Davison Igbinosun started and played until the middle of the second quarter. Nothing we've seen thus far would indicate than a healthy Hairston will not be the man opposite starter Christian Benford against the Texans on the first defensive snap of the regular season.

As I mentioned last week, the line matter more than the dot. We now have two preseason game data points and we'll stay tuned for the final one after the Bills play the Pittsburgh Steelers on Thursday night.

...and that's the way the cookie crumbles. I'm Bruce Nolan with Buffalo Rumblings. You can find me on Twitter and Instagram@BruceExclusiveand look for new episodes of The Bruce Exclusive" every Thursday on the Rumblings Cast Network -see more in my LinkTree!