Tyrel Dodson ended up being thrust into a position of needing to play a lot of snaps for the Buffalo Bills in 2023.
Terrel Bernard won the battle for the starting middle linebacker position to replace Tremaine Edmunds. However, a season-ending injury to Matt Milano forced Buffalo to start Dodson for 10 games.
In the end, Pro Football Focus says that decision went well. PFF named Dodson the Bills’ most-improved player from the 2023 season:
2022 PFF grade: 48.4
2023 PFF grade: 89.5Dodson joined the starting lineup following Matt Milano’s season-ending injury and did not look back. He logged 590 snaps, including the playoffs, which was more than he had in his first three seasons combined. He was also among the very best at his position, earning the second-highest PFF overall grade among linebackers and grading out above 86.0 both in run defense and coverage.
Now to the real question. What does Buffalo do with Dodson now?
Slated to be a free agent, should the Bills re-sign him? That’s an easy yes, right?
Here’s where context comes into the PFF picture. Dodson had a positive coverage grade, but helping assist him is Buffalo’s decision to take him off the field on passing downs. That skews the statistics.
Realistically, the team and Dodson will know that. Considering that, his price tag shouldn’t be outlandishly high.
Free agency will open in the NFL in March and Bills Wire will provide updates throughout.
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