The eye test says the Buffalo Bills had one of the NFL’s best secondaries last season.
Now the hard analytics are saying the same.
Pro Football Focus released their top secondary rankings in the NFL from the 2019 season this week. The Bills finished in the fourth-overall spot.
Here’s the analysis:
Since taking over as head coach in 2017, Sean McDermott has led the Buffalo Bills to three consecutive elite team coverage grades, with their 2019 grade of 90.5 ringing in as the league’s fourth-best mark. Cornerback Tre’Davious White (75.2 coverage grade) and safeties Micah Hyde (82.0) and Jordan Poyer (70.1) helped lead a group that allowed the fifth-fewest EPA per pass play and the league’s second-fewest touchdown passes through 16 games. And White was the only NFL corner to play 500-plus coverage snaps and not allow a touchdown reception. The Bills played a good mix of both zone (60% of the time) and man coverage (34% of the time), and their low-risk philosophy yielded an average depth of target of just 7.3 yards, which tied for the second-lowest average among all 32 teams.
The only units out-ranking the Bills were the Vikings, 49ers, and Patriots at the top, respectively, in PFF’s grades.
For the first three years of McDermott’s tenure as head coach, this unit has led the way. The coach added Hyde, Poyer and White in 2017, with Levi Wallace and Kevin Johnson both successfully filling in at the No. 2 cornerback role in 2019. Taron Johnson plays his part as the nickel cornerback in the slot in a strong way, too.
But as the Bills enter the 2020 offseason, the story will start to change. The chickens are coming home to roost. White, one of the NFL’s top cornerbacks, a 2019 All-Pro, will be a free agent following 2020. The Bills can activate his fifth-year option on his rookie contract, and probably will. Along with White, Poyer is also entering a contract year. He’ll be 29 next season. Both players will likely have some sort of contract discussions with the Bills this offseason, or should.
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