A fierce proponent of his quarterback as the AP NFL Most Valuable Player during the season, Bills head coach Sean McDermott remains just as supportive of Josh Allen now that he's successfully won the award.
McDermott spoke to reporters Monday at the 2025 NFL Scouting Combine, taking a wide-angle approach to Allen's MVP journey and harkening back to the seven seasons the two have spent together.
"It validates everything that he's been doing for years," McDermott said of Allen winning MVP. "It validates his leadership this year, the way he's played on the field this season, the way he's matured off the field, on the field. His decision making and how that's improved. All these areas that were perceived -- call it, gaps -- Josh has answered those gaps and he's closed those gaps. When you do that at the level that he did it at on a consistent basis, the result was the MVP. So, to me, as I said during the year, later in the year in particular, he deserved that."
Allen taking home the hardware at NFL Honors on Feb. 6 marked yet another remarkable milestone of one of the most successful development projects in league history. Despite joining Buffalo as the No. 7 overall pick in 2018, Allen was by no means a polished product under center, as evidenced by his 52.8 completion percentage in 12 games his rookie year.
But his ascent was rapid, a dual-threat QB impossible to take down who jumped to 69.2 completion percentage by Year 3 and hasn't fallen under 63 percent since. Turnovers, too, were a problem, even as recently as last year, when Allen threw a career-high 18 picks.
He blew that "gap" to smithereens this season, throwing just six picks while tossing 28 touchdowns. He ran for 12 more, his second straight season with double-digit scores on the ground.
The circumstances under which he dominated were perhaps the most impressive part of it all, and likely what nudged him past Baltimore Ravens QB Lamar Jackson, who posted better numbers.
Buffalo entered the 2024 campaign with diminished outside expectations after an offseason of cost-cutting, which included trading away wide receiver Stefon Diggs and letting wideout Gabe Davis walk in free agency. But the Bills instead won the AFC East for the fifth straight season, all while boasting no first-team All-Pros and just two Pro Bowlers on the initial roster.
Trophy-winning storylines aside, though, Allen was never completely on an island.
Running back James Cook broke out in a massive way. He quadrupled his career rushing TD total from his first two years in the NFL, finding the end zone 16 times. He then followed up his eye-popping season with a similarly eye-popping quote, indicating on social media he'd like a $15 million annual salary before doubling down by saying, "Feed me the big bucks."
Cook, currently entering the final year of his rookie contract, is set to make a base salary of $5.1 million in 2025 and is eligible for a new deal.
McDermott was also asked about him, and he sung his praises like he did with Allen before recusing himself from any business dealings.
"He's a great example of one of the joys that comes with coaching," McDermott said. "To go on the field in this case, this year in particular, and have the success that he experienced and how he helped our team, it's just a great feeling as a coach to watch a young man do what he did.
"The business part is gonna take care of itself. (General manager) Brandon (Beane), I know, is on top of that, and he will be on top of that moving forward."
A price tag of $15 million per year would place Cook second among all running backs, $4 million shy of Christian McCaffrey but above Jonathan Taylor ($14 million) and reigning Offensive Player of the Year Saquon Barkley ($12.6 million).
Even after last year's exodus, the Bills are currently projected to be $10.1 million over the salary cap, meaning they'll have to be judicious with their money -- especially with other needs on the roster.
Asked if Buffalo is looking for a field-stretching wide receiver, McDermott said he believes in speed and admitted that the offense probably didn't open up defenses enough vertically or horizontally this past season.
The Bills' receptions leader, Khalil Shakir, was more of a short and intermediate threat, vacuuming targets in at will but mostly in small chunks. While their receiving TD leader, Mack Hollins, could be trusted to go up and get deep balls with his 6-foot-4 frame, he wasn't necessarily burning defenders.
Those two had a more extended chance to shine due to disappointing seasons by rookie wideout Keon Coleman and second-year tight end Dalton Kincaid.
Coleman finished with a modest 29 catches, although he did turn those chances into 556 receiving yards and four touchdowns. He missed four games due to injury, as did Kincaid (44 catches for 448 yards and two TDs), who seemed prime to make a push for top-tier TE status heading into his sophomore campaign.
"I thought he had an up-and-down first season, I really do," McDermott said of Coleman. "I mentioned that after the year. I thought he got off to a start that he built momentum through, and then he got injured, and then from there on it was rather rocky, I would say.
"We're looking for him to learn from those moments of adversity and come back and have a really, really, really strong offseason and get himself going into the start of season two here."
Coleman, the first pick in the 2024 NFL Draft's second round, missed the opportunity for a slam-dunk first impression like fellow draftmates Malik Nabers and Brian Thomas Jr. made. However, McDermott was sure to point out that some players who excel in Year 1 don't always keep the trajectory into Year 2, while early struggles don't preclude a jump for someone like Coleman.
"You have to stay urgent, you have to stay on the gas, or this league will eat you up," he said. "Whether you're a player, coach, whatever it is. And that takes a certain type of person with a certain drive and determination and fire in their heart, and it's gonna be Keon's turn to show that he has that this offseason."
As for Kincaid, who unfortunately fit McDermott's description of a second-year dip, his coach trusts the talent but needs to see more availability.
"He's been hurt a little bit in Year 1 and then again in Year 2," McDermott said. "So, the most important thing that we need to do and we need to help him with and he needs to do, as well, in taking the lead on this, is getting stronger and more durable for us to be out there even more. I don't question his ability. It's just can he get strong enough from a play-strength standpoint to help us every week of the season, and in particular in the playoffs when we need him the most?"
So, durability is the name of the game for Kincaid this offseason. For Coleman, it'll be perseverance, and for Buffalo and Cook, talking money. There's sure to be vital new pieces added around them in the coming months, too.
The Bills will hope it leads to winning an even greater trophy than Allen's MVP -- a Lombardi.
