Buffalo Bills: Tremaine Edmunds in Top 10 among linebackers by CBS Sports
The Buffalo Bills young linebacker continues to be included in the discussion of some of the best at his position.
The Buffalo Bills have one of the best defenses in the NFL and a big part of that is their starting middle linebacker, Tremaine Edmunds. The Bills drafted Edmunds in the first round of the 2018 NFL Draft and he stepped in almost immediately to the starting role.
He has started all but one game in the first two years with the Bills and played over 90% of the team’s total defensive snaps. This past season Edmunds earned his first Pro Bowl selection after he 115 total tackles, 1.5 sacks, one interception and one safety.
While he has played well in his first two years, at only 22 years of age the expectations and potential are rising rapidly for Tremaine Edmunds. Recently, Sean Wagner-McGough at CBS Sports put together his Top 10 linebackers and the Bills linebacker made the list at number 10.
"10. Bills’ Tremaine EdmundsRanking Edmunds in the top 10 requires a bit of projection because to this point in his career, he hasn’t played like a top 10 player at his position group. But that’s OK, because Edmunds, the 16th-overall pick in the 2018 draft, is still only 22 years old and he’s already flashed plenty of promise in his first two seasons. He’s played in 31 of 32 possible games, racking up 236 combined tackles, 15 tackles for loss, 11 quarterback hits, 3.5 sacks, 21 passes defended, and three interceptions. In that span, among all linebackers, he ranks 12th in combined tackles — not bad for his age-20 and -21 seasons.Edmunds has the benefit of playing on a loaded Bills defense that should continue their ascent under Sean McDermott. In his third season, Edmunds has a real shot to take off. He has all the physical traits necessary to become a top-10 linebacker. Now, he just needs to put it all together. Obviously, since I have him ranked here, I think that’ll happen."
The middle linebacker is a key role for the Buffalo Bills and Edmunds has done an excellent job taking on the added responsibility of wearing the green dot. This notes the one player on the defense who gets the play call from the coaches on the sideline. It is Edmunds’ responsibility to communicate the play and make sure players are in the right position.
Another reason that Edmunds is a pivotal part of this defense is he brings a unique blend of size and speed that allows Sean McDermott to really utilize the scheme that he wants to run. The Bills operate a majority of the time in their nickel defense, so the Bills only have two linebackers on the field. The speed that Edmunds, as well as Matt Milano, possess allows them to get sideline to sideline and get to the ball carrier.
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While Tremaine Edmunds has looked good the past two years, the hope is that this coming season the Buffalo Bills linebacker will continue to develop and hopefully continue move up rankings like this.