Buffalo Bills’ LB unit fails to crack PFF top-10 ahead of 2024 season

29/06/2024

When healthy, the Buffalo Bills field one of the NFL’s most talented linebacker duos. Whether it’s been Tremaine Edmunds or Terrell Bernard pairing up with Matt Milano, head coach Sean McDermott has prioritized athletic players who can chase almost anyone on offense down from any angle on the field.

The folks at Pro Football Focus (PFF), however, tend to look at things from a unique lens. While every analysis is subject to a fair bit of criticism and plenty of differing opinions, one would tend to believe that the Bills’ current duo of Milano and Bernard manage to land somewhere within the top 10 of PFF’s rankings for linebacker units.

Think again. It would appear that Gordon McGuinness is unfamiliar with the Milano-Bernard duo. (It’s also clear that PFF made sure to point out whose name belongs to these rankings).

Furthermore, several of the players listed above joined their current team only a few months ago. As such, we don’t know how they’re going to perform in new environments. Still, that didn’t stop McGuinnes from listing the 49ers, Patriots, Browns, Saints, and Vikings ahead of the Bills. If you’ve done the math, then you know that half of teams in his top-10 feature new starters. Conversely, Buffalo return both starting linebackers from the 2023 NFL season.

It’s not that McGuinness’ list is completely out of left field. There’s premiere linebacker talent throughout his rankings. One can sympathize with the challenge of building such lists. But are the Bills really unworthy of placement in the top 10?

In the full article, McGuinness lists Buffalo’s starting linebackers at 11, writing:

Assuming Matt Milano can play at the level he was at before going down with a season-ending injury in London against the Jacksonville Jaguars in 2023, the Bills will be in a good spot at linebacker again.

Milano was one of the best coverage linebackers in the NFL in 2022, earning an 83.2 PFF coverage grade. Next to him, Terrel Bernard proved himself to be a solid starter in his second NFL season, producing a 65.9 PFF grade on 1,031 snaps.

Every list in existence is prone to slighting someone — or something — somehow. It’s difficult to digest McGuinness’ list above and not feel as though he dropped them down the list after joining the scores of doubters this offseason.

While quick to praise both Milano and Bernard’s past play, it appears as though McGuinness is hesitant to believe Milano will find a triumphant return from injury.

Add this top-10 list to the ever-growing pile of bulletin-board material for the Bills’ locker room. Do you agree or disagree with Gordon McGuinness’ top-10 linebacker rankings — and where would you place the Buffalo Bills in your own list?

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