With games against the Indianapolis Colts, New York Giants, Washington Redskins and Detroit Lions, let’s take a look at this year’s Buffalo Bills preseason schedule preview.

The Buffalo Bills have been making a lot of noise this offseason, although they didn’t go out and make any big signings this free agency. With a flood of smart decisions in the NFL Draft, the re-signing of a few key players and some added depth on both offense and defense, the Bills have built up a lot of optimism for a city that more than needs it.

Let’s be honest, infusing the confidence of Rex Ryan with the mind of Rob Ryan will be interesting to watch. Although the result could go either way, it’s hard to imagine it being a bad combination. Our defense is stacked with talent and much of the players battling for the backup role can easily be inserted as a starter, so the depth is definitely there.

In the NFL Draft, we addressed some very key needs for the team, especially at the linebacker position. Switching to the 3-4 defense, we knew we would need to beef up that LB core. Following suit, the Bills drafted two players to fill that need in Shaq Lawson (19th Overall Pick) and Reggie Ragland (41st Overall Pick). Shaq Lawson will bring an immediate boost to the Bills’ defense once he fully recovers from a shoulder injury, but Ragland will make an impact right out of the gate.

I think our 3rd round pick and final pick of the draft is also worth a look at. Adolphus Washington (3rd Round) helps beef up our defensive line, while Kevon Seymour (6th Round) has been turning a lot of heads so far this offseason and has become sort of a backup plan if things with Stephon Gilmore don’t go as planned. Other key moves made on the defense are the signing of Ed Reed as a defensive backs coach, the re-signing of Corbin Bryant and the restructuring of Kyle Williams‘ contract.

As for our offense, a lot of it is going to look the same. We managed to not only bring back our entire starting offensive line, but also our top wide receiver (Sammy Watkins), top running back (LeSean McCoy), top quarterback (Tyrod Taylor) and top tight end (Charles Clay). In addition to that, we still have our No. 2 wide receiver (Robert Woods), No. 2 running back (Karlos Williams) and No. 2 quarterback (E.J. Manuel) — although Cardale Jones is working his way into that backup role.

If that’s not enough to get you excited about our offense, then maybe going even deeper into the rotation will give you the goosebumps. We drafted three rookies that can potentially see some solid production, or at least come in and make some key plays throughout the season: WR Kolby Listenbee, RB Jonathan Williams and QB Cardale Jones. Although they are currently in the No. 3 spots on the depth chart, they should see some kind of opportunity to prove their worth. At least the Bills are more than set for any unexpected injuries this season.

With training camp set to begin on July 30th, that could only mean that the season is right around the corner. Shortly after training camp is complete, teams will need to release their official 53-man rosters that they will use at the start of the season. Once that’s finished, it’s time for the season to start.

Before we get to Week 1 of the regular season, though, we should take a look at the preseason. With all of the position battles we are seeing this offseason, there’s a good chance that most of them are decided after evaluating their play in the preseason games.

Since this will be very important for preparing ourselves for Week 1, let’s take a look at our preseason matchups this year.