Should the Buffalo Bills linebackers be higher in PFF rankings?

Did Pro Football Focus rank the Buffalo Bills linebackers too low?

For the fourth year in a row, the Buffalo Bills are entering the season with essentially the same starting linebacker group. The Bills were able to re-sign Matt Milano and he will return to this defense and play alongside Tremaine Edmunds.

During that stretch, Edmunds has made two Pro Bowls and finished with over 100 total tackles every season. As for Milano, he has struggled with injuries during this time but when he is on the field he is one of the better coverage linebackers in the NFL.

That is why it was a little surprising while looking at Pro Football Focus’ latest rankings for linebackers in the NFL to find the Bills all the way down at 14th. Sam Monson wrote the following about this position group:

"14. BUFFALO BILLSThe Bills would be much higher than this on name recognition, but Tremaine Edmunds has been more hype than overall production thus far. His highlights are spectacular, but so are his lowlights, and he has yet to finish a season with a PFF grade higher than 60.0. He’s also missed 57 tackles in three seasons. Matt Milano has been much better, giving up just two touchdowns in coverage in two seasons. A.J Klein played over 600 snaps last season as Milano dealt with injury, but he recorded only a 46.1 overall PFF grade."

One of the reasons that Monson has the Bills down as low as he did is that he believes Edmunds is more hype than production. Certainly, there are going to be expectations when a player is taken in the first round but Edmunds entered the league at 19 and in his fourth season is only going to be 23 years old.

There is a bigger learning curve sometimes for players that are that young. He also notes that Edmunds has missed 57 total tackles in three seasons but according to Pro Football Reference, he has missed 12 in each of the past two seasons so he has improved in this area. In comparison, Bobby Wagner, who is considered one of the best linebackers in the NFL, has missed 10 in each of the past two seasons.

One area that the Bills have improved is certainly with the depth at the position. The additions of Tyrell Adams and Marquel Lee give this group more experience and have younger players with potential, like Tyrel Dodson and Andre Smith, who if they take that next step will really improve this group.

When looking at Monson’s rankings, I believe there is a case to be made that the Bills should be higher than teams like the Seahawks (2nd), Broncos (4th), Patriots (7th), Texans (8th), and Falcons (12th). I think entering this season these teams have more question marks at the position than the Buffalo Bills.