PFF names two Bills among top-50 players in NFL

Pro Football Focus on Buffalo Bills QB Josh Allen, WR Stefon Diggs.

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The Buffalo Bills’ breakout 2020 campaign did not go unnoticed by national media outlets. Two standout Bills players have been named among the best in the league, regardless of position.

Pro Football Focus named Josh Allen and Stefon Diggs as a part of their top-50 players currently in the NFL. This listing includes every position not just each players’ respectively.

Allen completed a remarkable 2020, setting several team records, including most passing yards in a season (4,544) touchdown passes (37), total touchdowns (45), and completion percentage. All of this helped propel the Bills to their first AFC Championship appearance in 27 years.  Allen landed 40th on PFF’s list of best players in the NFL. Here is what the organization had to say about Allen’s placement:

Allen was spectacular in 2020, but it was such a giant leap forward from his previous baseline — his overall PFF grade jumped from the mid-60s to 90.9 last year — that the smart analysis is to expect some degree of regression, given what we know about player development at this level.

It was certainly a breakout season, but players rarely maintain a development curve with a trajectory to the moon year over year. Allen’s most impressive improvement came in terms of accuracy, where he went from a player with an adjusted completion rate dead last as a rookie to ranking fifth in the league in 2020.

PFF slotted wide receiver Stefon Diggs five spots behind Allen as the 45th-best player. Diggs put together the best season in Bills history by a wideout. He caught 127 passes for 1,535 receiving yards, the best in team history. He was also the first receiver in Buffalo history to lead the league in receptions and yards. Diggs added eight receiving touchdowns to his 2020 stat ledger. PFF share their rationale for naming Diggs among the best among all players in the league:

In his first year in Buffalo, Diggs teamed up with Josh Allen and the rest of the Bills offense to produce his finest season to date. He saw 21 more targets, hauled in 25 more receptions and tallied 403 yards more than he had in any single season to date, and he caught those passes at a higher rate (78.4%) than any other season of his career.

Diggs effectively justified the frustration he felt in Minnesota — he knew that he was capable of much more; all he needed was increased opportunity. He showed that in Buffalo in Year 1 as one of the best and most complete receivers in the game.

Not only did Allen and Diggs earn some respect from PFF, this honor is a continuation. Both players were named All-Pros for their efforts a year ago.

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