Are the Buffalo Bills inside linebackers better in 2016 than they were in 2015?
After the end of the 2015 season, Bills linebacker Nigel Bradham was not re-signed and ended up working out a deal with the Philadelphia Eagles. This left the Bills very thin at inside linebacker especially since their other starter Preston Brown, struggled at times in Rex Ryan’s defense.
Brown was supposed to receive the play calls from the sidelines and translate to the team but there were a number of times last season where he was unable to do that effectively and in a timely manner ultimately causing him to lose that role in favor of veteran Manny Lawson.
The Bills needed to add depth to both their inside and outside linebacker positions in the offseason but inside linebacker was the bigger area of need. Did the Bills do a good job of restocking the position? Will their inside linebackers be better in 2016 than in 2015?
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In my opinion, the answer to the question is a resounding YES! The Bills not only improved their inside linebacker position considerably but they did so without going out and spending a ton of money.
They added affordable players in free agency like Zach Brown who signed a one-year, $1.25 million contract and Lorenzo Alexander who is a special teams ace but can also fill in as a backup for one-year, $885,000 deal according to Spotrac.com.
Brown was signed for more money than any of the other Bills players this offseason. That’s because the team planned to use him as a starter if they could not add a better player in the draft. In the draft, the Bills did find a better player though and now Brown will be the number one reserve at middle linebacker.
The player the Bills got in the draft was Alabama linebacker Reggie Ragland. Due to an enlarged aorta and concerns about whether he could be a three-down player in the NFL, Ragland slipped into the second round after being projected as a first round pick.
Sensing an opportunity to land a player at an area of considerable need with first round talent, general manager Doug Whaley worked the phones and was able to agree to a deal with the Chicago Bears to move up from #49 to #41 overall in order to select Ragland.
It was a move applauded by most experts even if the Bills did give up an extra 4th round pick in this year’s draft and next years.
Ragland is an “old school” linebacker who is a thumper against the run. He does not have freakish speed or measurables but what he does have is football smarts and an ability to wrap up ball-carriers in order to make plays. His coverage skills while not great, are not nearly as bad as they are made out to be either.
The Bills can also expect a boost from last year’s starter Preston Brown. Brown has had an entire offseason to digest the playbook and to get more comfortable in Rex Ryan’s system. Rex’s brother Rob has already praised Brown saying, “This Preston Brown is going to be a star,” according to Tyler Dunne of The Buffalo News.
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Preston Brown is young and talented and the main thing holding him back last season was his ability to understand the system and the units overall disappointing performance. Few if any Bills players had a better season in 2015, compared to 2014.
In the offseason, the Bills added quality depth with Zach Brown, added a good starter in Reggie Ragland and their prior starters performance is likely to improve. That’s why I believe the 2016 Buffalo Bills inside linebackers should be better than in 2015.