Mecole Hardman Jr. signed a one-year reserve/futures contract with the Bills in January, with a cap hit of $1.1 million if he makes the 53-man roster. His $1.3 million base salary is fully guaranteed if he makes the team Week One, but Buffalo can release him before then without dead cap charge. Hardman Jr. spent the offseason with the Green Bay Packers, catching three of eight targets for 30 yards in the preseason, and adding one 14-yard rush. His ability to contribute in 2026 will depend on his performance as a returner
Stephen Gosnell, a 24-year-old wide receiver, signed with the Buffalo Bills as an undrafted free agent in 2025. He spent last season on the practice squad after being waived in preseason and has a reserve/future contract for 2026. Gosnell is competing for a roster spot among a crowded group of 14 wide receivers
Today’s edition of “91 Buffalo Bills players in 91 days” was supposed to cover cornerback Daryl Porter Jr. However, as is the fickle nature of the NFL, Porter was released on June 1. I had assumed that Porter had little chance of making the final roster, hence his early placement in the series, but his release came even sooner than I had anticipated. Now, we turn our focus instead to the man who replaced Porter on the 91-man roster. He doesn’t play defense — he’s a wide receiver — but he is an intriguing young prospect, and someone whose name flows very well with the most annoying dance craze of the 1990s. Without further adieu, let’s talk about a former Fresno State Bulldog looking to make his mark in the NFL. _____________________________________________________________________________ Name: Mac Dalena Number: Unknown Position: WR Height/Weight: 5’10”, 180 pounds Age: 24 (25 on 10/4/2026) Experience/Draft: 1; signed with the Kansas City Chiefs following the 2025 NFL Draft College: Fresno State Acquired: Signed with Bills on 6/1/2026 Financial situation (per Spotrac): Unknown, but I assume it’s a one-year deal at the minimum, which is approximately $885,000 for the season. 2025 Recap: Dalena spent the offseason and preseason with the Chiefs last year. In three preseason games, he saw four targets and made two catches for nine yards. He did not make the final roster, nor did he sign with Kansas City’s practice squad. He eventually landed with the Seattle Seahawks , signing with their practice squad on November 4. He was released from the practice squad just four days later. The New York Jets signed Dalena to a reserve/future contract in January, but they released him on May 10. Positional outlook: Dalena is one of 13 receivers on the current roster. Khalil Shakir , DJ Moore , Tyrell Shavers , Joshua Palmer , Keon Coleman , Stephen Gosnell, Trent Sherfield , Mecole Hardman Jr., Gabriel Benyard, Skyler Bell, Ja’Mori Maclin, and Jalen Virgil are the others. 2026 Offseason: Dalena just signed with Buffalo, but he is healthy and ready to participate in minicamp and training camp. 2026 Season outlook: Dalena offers some promise as a slot receiver, as he’s definitely quick enough to operate in that area of the field despite his lack of size. At his pro day in 2024, Dalena ran a 4.43-second 40-yard dash, and completed the three-cone drill in just 6.89 seconds. He also showed off a 38.5” vertical and a 10’5” leap in the broad jump. Dalena has a small frame and short arms, so he doesn’t offer much in the way of contested-catch value, but he does offer enough speed and quickness where he could parlay a strong summer into a stint on Buffalo’s practice squad. I say “practice squad” and not the 53-man roster because there isn’t anything to suggest that the Bills will go with a soon-to-be 25-year-old as one of the final wideouts who makes the roster, and nor should they. This is a Buffalo team that needs to be in win-now mode, and unless Dalena comes in and sets the practice field on fire against the first-team defense, he isn’t going to make the team. Could he slot in as a potential backup for Shakir? He may show enough promise in head coach Joe Brady’s offense where that could be a long-term goal, but Dalena is unlikely to be a solution for the team in the short-term. Dalena has proven that he can be a difference-maker on offense before. As a senior at Fresno State, he caught 64 passes for 1,065 yards and eight scores. He led the Bulldogs in all three categories. For his efforts, Dalena was named a Second-Team All-American by HERO Sports, and he was also First-Team All-Mountain West. If Dalena wants to prove his mettle, he’ll have to compete on special teams and show that his field-stretching speed outweighs his slight stature. He’s likely a camp body, but he could be a fun player to watch during the summer if he finds some open field
There are so many of the usual pillars to the Kansas City Chiefs ’ success still leading the way into the 2026 season, even if quarterback Patrick Mahomes takes his time in recovering from injury. Whether it’s him, head coach Andy Reid, tight end Travis Kelce or defensive tackle Chris Jones , the core of the three-time Super Bowl champion organization is still likely the biggest factor towards claiming a fourth. However, a new wave of difference makers must emerge to fill in the holes around the well-known All-Pros, especially with many of the previous supporting roles departing this offseason, like cornerbacks Trent McDuffie and Jaylen Watson , or linebacker Leo Chenal. The Chiefs need a handful of players to “breakout” in 2026, taking talent that is clear to see and sharpening it to become more foundational pieces in the team’s quest to return to the playoffs. These are four that are in position to do so: When Kansas City selected Worthy with the 28th pick of the 2024 NFL Draft, it was an exciting pick, given his record-setting speed, which made him a high-floor prospect in the Chiefs’ offensive scheme, and the realization that he has so much room to grow as a player, being just 21 years old on draft night. I made the comparison to a former Chiefs speedster at the same position, calling Worthy a “souped-up” Mecole Hardman for being more fine-tuned in his route-running and receiving, while also having the same game-breaking long speed. So far, Worthy’s career has not met even the production of Hardman’s first two years in the NFL, but Worthy has an excellent chance to further prove himself in 2026. Last season was marred by a Week 1 collision with Travis Kelce; Worthy suffered a dislocated right shoulder and a torn labrum, and he waited until after the season ended to get surgery . That’s worth noting in the 14-game sample from last season, where Worthy only racked up 532 yards and one touchdown after nine scores in his rookie campaign. He will also be coached by veteran wide receivers coach Chad O’Shea this season, who has headed and developed NFL receivers room since 2007. If he and quarterback Patrick Mahomes can simply strengthen the chemistry on downfield routes, that alone could give Worthy a real shot at reaching the 1,000-yard mark for the first time in his career. If you want to consider last season a breakout year for Thornton, that’s fine, but he is in a position now to level up even higher. In 2025, Thornton proved he belonged in the active rotation of receivers for the Chiefs, but this offseason has slotted him in as the third starter alongside Worthy and Rice, who is now recovering from clean-up surgery on his knee with a two-month recovery timeline . Ideally, Thornton was to be the fourth receiver, with a defined role to stretch the defense vertically with downfield routes, à la former Chiefs wideout Justin Watson or Demarcus Robinson . However, if Thornton can prove himself as a more well-rounded X-receiver, beating press coverage and getting open on quicker-hitting routes than the long ball, he could make Kansas City’s front office look like geniuses for not only re-signing him, but also trusting him as a true starter. He could quickly be in line for an extension next offseason; with the $5.5 million average salary of the deal he signed this spring, he would be incredibly inexpensive if he does play legitimate starting snaps. The flashy defensive end will enter his second season with little standing in his way of becoming a nearly every-down player for the Chiefs, starting on the opposite edge from George Karlaftis . There has been no veteran addition to the room so far this offseason, and the second-round defensive end pick, R Mason Thomas , could be reserved for just certain personnel packages to start. It leaves Gillotte with a lot of responsibility on the early downs or neutral situations, doing the dirty work of setting a hard edge against the run, but he came on strong down the stretch of [... truncated ...]
The Buffalo Bills are starting organized team activities (OTAs). They’ll get onto the field in shorts and helmets with very little contact, and they’ll begin running drills and installing plays. There will be camp observations from numerous first-hand sources, which will be the most viewed pieces of content of the spring. And a lot of it will be in service of the following question: who will make the Buffalo Bills 2026 53-man roster? Naturally, we as fans will all be thinking that too. Every time Jackson Acker makes a play out of the backfield in the passing game, we’ll wonder what it means for his camp battle with Ben VanSumeran. Every time Mecole Hardman and Trent Sherfield return a punt or beat a gunner, it’ll add to a running tally in our heads about which one of those players (if either) should be the last Bills receiver on their 53. Preseason games will provide a taste of “real” football, but they can frequently distract from the most important factors that go into actually identifying who’s going to make an NFL roster and who’s not. The emotional pinnacle of the Hall of Fame game kickoff may quickly dissipate into a “who is this guy” remark during the fourth quarter of that same game, but preseason games also inject variance into our own thought processes because they introduce the idea that HOW a player plays in these exhibitions is somehow the most predictive part of final roster analysis. The truth is, WHEN and WITH WHOM a player plays is far more predictive of their roster positions than HOW a player plays. We see it every year: some backup player lights up a team in the 4th quarter of the final preseason game, and there will be murmurs that maybe this player should make the 53-man roster. I mean, it is based on merit, right? Players who play better should make it over players that play worse. It’s a fair and true statement, but the fact that this final preseason darling (let’s call him Bob) performs excellently in the final preseason game means that the decision had already been almost (or entirely made) on their roster position. They’re playing alongside a bunch of other people not likely the make the roster, and against a bunch of players not likely to make their roster. Mismatched groupings for extended sample sizes are uncommon in the spring and even more uncommon the closer the calendar gets to cutdown day. If the backup offensive line is playing and Bob is consistently playing with that group, the most probable takeaway is that Bob is considered in the “backup offensive line” group. If that group includes players likely to make a roster, and they all sit together at the end of the first quarter of the final preseason game, Bob is probably a good bet to make the roster as a backup offensive lineman. Whether Bob gets beaten for a terrible sack during that game (“HOW he plays”) is not as predictive of his roster status as the fact that he was put out there alongside a handful of other players who are likely to make the team (“WITH WHOM he plays”) and the fact that those players weren’t in the game in the second half of the final preseason game (“WHEN he plays”). In 2024, Zach Davidson got some run as a potential TE3 for the Buffalo Bills (including an article written by yours truly ). Quinton Morris was the incumbent, but Davidson had made some noise at camp with impressive receiving plays smattered throughout camp observations. Even before training camp opened, I noted the following in the above-linked article: Preseason special teams will be a key factor in determining whether or not Davidson can usurp Morris from the TE3 spot, but the juice Davidson brings cannot be understated, especially to a team with a recent changing of the guard at key leadership positions who may be searching for a different vibe in the locker room in 2024. When preseason kicks off, when Davidson is playing and with what group will be more predictive of the coaching staff’s opinion of him than how he’s actually performing, but i
[... truncated ...]
The annual NFLPA Rookie Premiere took place over the last three days, showcasing 42 rookies from the 2026 NFL Draft class, including two Kansas City Chiefs draft picks: running back Emmett Johnson and quarterback Garrett Nussmeier . Our first view of the two newcomers to the Chiefs’ offense came courtesy of the annual gathering for the “next class of marketable stars” in the NFL ; it usually consists of just offensive players from the year’s draft class. Across three days, rookies will participate in trading card photoshoots, autograph signings, jersey unveilings, and a full slate of content creation sessions, while also taking part in business orientation led by union leadership focused on group licensing, personal brand development, and long-term income opportunities. The event brings together the NFL’s top incoming talent with leading brands, licensees, and media partners to build early relationships that extend well beyond the field. Johnson and Nussmeier join a handful of Kansas City ’s draft picks to take part in the summit, following wide receivers Jalen Royals last year, Rashee Rice in 2023, Skyy Moore in 2022, Cornell Powell in 2021, and Mecole Hardman in 2019. In 2020, first-round running back Clyde Edwards-Helaire represented the Chiefs
