The Bills’ linebackers group has been a formidable presence under head coach Sean McDermott. The team has drafted some impact starters and rotation players under his and general manager Brandon Beane’s watch.
Such players have included Matt Milano and more recent addition, Terrel Bernard, as well as former starter and defensive play-caller Tremaine Edmunds.
They’ve not been without weak spots, perhaps no more visible than in the amount of ground yards they’ve given up at times to opposing running backs in McDermott’s “bend-don’t-break” defensive schemes.
That and Milano has occasionally missed time due to injuries.
Nonetheless, the group has been effective, with Milano in particular standing out in his play. This is why a new list from Pro Football Focus (PFF) that ranks the best units around the NFL might surprise many who hold Buffalo’s group in high regard.
The outlet shared their lists of different position groups and how they ranked them,
The evaluation was exclusively on off-ball linebackers and not outside linebackers who function as edge defenders, such as Bills OLB Von Miller, for example.
In their 2024 rankings for every linebacker group in the NFL, PFF does have the Bills linebacker group included but has them ranked at 11th in the league.
Obviously things can change once the regular season kicks off, and the Bills were without Milano for a large part of their 2023 season due to a right tibial plateau fracture (a tibia fracture just below the knee) which may have been a factor in this offseason assessment.
In Milano’s absence, Terrel Bernard would see increased time, logging 143 tackles along with six and a half sacks to go with three fumble recoveries and two interceptions.
Ahead of them were the Jets (1st overall), 49ers (2nd), Bears (3rd), Patriots (4th), Giants (5th), Ravens (6th), Jaguars (7th), Browns (8th), Saints (9th), and Vikings (10th).
With that, here is what PFF had to say about their ranking for the Bills in their 2024 NFL linebacker unit rankings…
11. BUFFALO BILLS
Assuming Matt Milano can play at the level he was at before going down with a season-ending injury in London against the Jacksonville Jaguars in 2023, the Bills will be in a good spot at linebacker again.
Milano was one of the best coverage linebackers in the NFL in 2022, earning an 83.2 PFF coverage grade. Next to him, Terrel Bernard proved himself to be a solid starter in his second NFL season, producing a 65.9 PFF grade on 1,031 snaps.