Indianapolis Colts LB Darius Leonard on facing the Buffalo Bills, LB Tremaine Edmunds in NFL Wild Card matchup.
The Buffalo Bills must be prepared for Indianapolis Colts linebacker Darius Leonard on Saturday in their AFC Wild Card showdown. He’s their defense’s lone Pro Bowler this year, the second of his career, and was an All-Pro already.
Not only will they have to be prepped for Leonard himself, but there’s a chip on his shoulder that’s coming full force.
As his accolades show, Leonard is very good. But his draft status displays not every team thought those would come. As a second-round pick in 2018, every team in the NFL, at one point, passed on Leonard at that year’s draft.
Tremaine Edmunds brings that full circle for Leonard. Who was among the teams that passed on Leonard, not once, but twice if you include the selection of Josh Allen as well in the 2018 first round? The Bills. And naturally, who was that other first rounder for the Bills at No. 16 overall? Edmunds.
“Every pick that was a linebacker ahead of me, I held that grudge,” Leonard said this week.
Naturally it’s not like Leonard personally hates the soft-spoken Edmunds. As Michael Corleone once said, it’s strictly business.
“We were at the Pro Bowl together, he’s a great guy,” Leonard said. “But on the field, I’m competing against the opposing offense, and I’m competing against him, because I have a point to prove.”
“Every LB that was picked before me, I’ve beat them,” Leonard said, mentioning a group that includes the Bills from his rookie season. “I want to outplay them. I want to show that team what they could have had.”
Having personally known Leonard as the Colts defender mentioned, Edmunds probably wouldn’t take such a thing personal. In fact, ahead of the upcoming playoff meeting, Edmunds ]sounded all business too, just in a more grounded light.
“I think really the biggest thing is just controlling what I can control and that is what we do on defense,” Edmunds said on Thursday via video conference. “From there, whatever happens, happens. But that’s the only thing I can control.”
“Really solid group,” Edmunds added on the Colts.
Buds or not, there can only be one starting middle linebacker that advances to Round 2.
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