Pro Football Focus recently ranked Buffalo Bills’ LB Zach Brown as the second best linebacker in this year’s free agent market.
Buffalo Bills‘ linebacker Zach Brown had a breakout season in 2016 and came as a huge surprise after replacing the injured Reggie Ragland in August. Ragland was originally expected to start at inside linebacker, but a season-ending knee surgery gave Brown the opportunity he needed.
And he ran with it.
Along with Lorenzo Alexander, another surprise last season, Zach Brown will be hitting free agency this offseason and will likely see offers from a number of teams. Coming off his best season since joining the league in 2012, the 27-year old is ready to play his best years, but will those years be with the Buffalo Bills?
Obviously, any Bills’ fan would answer yes to that question — simply out of pure hope that he does return. However, reality shows that Buffalo is tight with cap space and with 21 other unrestricted free agents to consider re-signing, the Bills might have to bite their tongue on this one.
Just a day ago, Pro Football Focus published an article titled ‘Top 10 Linebackers Set to Hit Free Agency‘ and Zach Brown found his name on the list. In fact, there was only one linebacker that PFF ranked higher than Brown — Dont’a Hightower.
Looking at the linebackers that are hitting free agency, it isn’t a very strong class. Unfortunately for Buffalo, that means Brown will receive a lot of attention from other teams. Especially considering that the Patriots will likely look to re-sign Hightower, Brown becomes even more valuable in this market.
In their article, Pro Football Focus shared their opinion on Zach Brown:
"A player that started the 2016 on fire, Brown struggled down the stretch as he graded positively in just two of his final eight games after doing so in all of his first eight games. Brown has posted back to back above-average-graded seasons in coverage and graded well against the run for the first time in his career in 2016. Fourth amongst all ILBs with 38 run stops, Brown showed potential for becoming a complete LB but considering his late-season decline and never doing so in any other season, there will be concern, which could lower his market value."
At the end of his breakout season, Brown totaled 149 tackles, 4 sacks, 2 forced fumbles, one interceptions, 4 passes defensed and 11 stuffs. Not only are those numbers impressive to say the least, but his 149 tackles was second-best in the NFL last season. Proving that he can not only find the ball, but finish the tackle, it’s obvious that any team can use his services.
Don’t let that fool you, though. It’s not like Zach Brown had a terrible start to his career. In the 3 years he spent with the Titans, Brown totaled 261 tackles, 10 sacks, 2 forced fumbles, 3 fumble recoveries, 6 interceptions, 2 touchdowns, 13 passes defensed and 16 stuffs. He did have his least-productive season in 2015, his final year with Tennessee, but it still wasn’t that bad of a year.
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Plus, he hasn’t missed a single game in his 4-year career.
There’s no doubt that Zach Brown will be receiving quite the pay raise this offseason, but it’s unclear whether that raise will come from the Buffalo Bills or another suitor. After seeing how effective Brown was with Buffalo last season, compared to his three years in Tennessee, I would love to see what he can do in his second season with the Bills.
With a true defensive-minded head coach and new coaching staff all-together, not to mention the switch to a 4-3, the Buffalo Bills could use someone as reliable as Zach Brown.
Stay tuned because if the Bills are going to bring him back next season, it will likely happen soon.
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