5 former Buffalo Bills make ESPN’s AFC East All-Decade team
ESPN announced their AFC East All-Decade team that included five former Buffalo Bills.
The Buffalo Bills are closing the door on a decade that saw some lows for fans, including seven years in a playoff drought that stretched much farther than that, but ended the 2010s with high notes with playoff appearances in two of the past three years.
Arguably the last three years has been some of the Buffalo Bills best teams but surprisingly when ESPN announced their AFC East All-Decade team, it did not include any current players. Even though these past few years have been some of the most talented rosters, the players likely didn’t play long enough to be included.
The five former Buffalo Bills that made the AFC East All-Decade team, which was voted on by the writers for each divisional team, was LeSean McCoy, Richie Incognito, Kyle Williams, Mario Williams and Stephon Gilmore.
Kyle Williams was actually picked by Marcel Louis-Jacques as the Bills player of the decade, and rightfully so. The defensive tackle was the heart and soul of this franchise at a time that they were not viewed highly around the league.
"A six-time Pro Bowler (all from 2010-18), Williams was a standout during a decade of overall mediocrity in Buffalo. He might not be a household name outside of Buffalo, but he ranked seventh among all defensive tackles in tackles for loss and sacks during that time frame. In Buffalo, calling him a fan favorite doesn’t quite do him justice; he’s so revered, he officiated a wedding for two Bills fans at halftime of their home game against the Patriots last season."
This didn’t stop Williams from playing all out and as Louis-Jacques notes his standing in the fan base is right up there with some of the all-time greats, including the likes of the stars from the Super Bowl teams like Jim Kelly, Thurman Thomas, Bruce Smith and Andre Reed.
The one player that Buffalo Bills fans will still see plenty of in 2020, and likely beyond, is cornerback Stephon Gilmore. He was a first round pick by the Bills in 2012 and played his first five years in the league with the team. However, he left Buffalo in 2017 and joined the New England Patriots.
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One of the most hotly contested position battles in the NFL is the debate over who is the better cornerback, Stephon Gilmore or Buffalo Bills’ Tre’Davious White. This is one that likely won’t be decided anytime soon and could be up for debate in next decade’s AFC East All-Decade team.