4. Linebacker
Good news for the Bills, Buffalo uses a nickel defense a lot. That means two linebackers, which translates to Tremaine Edmunds and Matt Milano a lot. Who play football very good…. a lot.
But there’s still that Lorenzo Alexander mold and we’re not sure how that’s going to pan out. Alexander played such a unique role for the Bills between covering route runners, playing edge defender and even lining up in the middle of Buffalo’s defensive line, it’s hard to find one player to do it all.
At linebacker depth spots, Buffalo added AJ Klein via free agency. Already in-house were Tyrel Dodson, Vosean Joseph, Del’Shawn Phillips, and Corey Thompson. Recently added Tyler Matakevich will be a special teamer.
On Klein, he could be a better run defender than Alexander, but in his pass defense skills, via the rush and coverage, he probably won’t be. Klein’s coverage grade via Pro Football Focus was a 43.6 last season. PFF ranked Alexander a much better 68.6 and he had nine passes defended last year while Klein has 11 in his career.
Moving down the list, Bills seem to like Thompson, who has some depth versatility as a special teamer, but he still has plenty to prove. As does Joseph, who really just has tons of questions surrounding him. He was Buffalo’s fifth-round pick at last year’s draft, but was placed on injured reserve at the end of training camp, ending his rookie season very early.
As mentioned, it’s just simply going to be hard to find someone to replace Alexander. Buffalo tried to find that in Klein, and as the draft approaches, could make a Round 2 or 3 pick that fits that mold as well. What seems most likely in the Bills using multiple players to replace Alexander instead.
Matt Milano appreciation tweet #Bills #BUFvsMIA pic.twitter.com/KCXNZIywGW
— Nick (@Nick_Wojton) November 17, 2019