The Buffalo Bills have a little bit of a linebacker problem through their first four games. Terrel Bernard has been average at best, and the depth is not super deep at the position. The 3-4 scheme has not been so friendly to this unit, and it’s got Bills fans thinking about what improvements that need to be made after the 2026 season
Overall, Buffalo's defense has been a liability these last couple of weeks. While they are the main reason why the Bills beat the Los Angeles Chargers in Week 3, the other games have shown consistent liability from them. Finally, in Week 4, they couldn't hold their ground, and let the Patriots put up 29 points to lose the game.
Bills' defense is off to rough start through 4 games
The Bills are giving up 372 yards per game on defense, and their latest outing against the Patriots said more negative than positive about them. At linebacker specifically, this unit has not been impressive whatsoever,
Bernard has not been the player he once was. Kaleb Elarms-Orr has had limited snaps, and Dorian Williams is not the kind of player to drop back into pass coverage in the middle of the field. He is a true run-stopper, which he excels at. In addition, he is a pending free agent after this season and I'm not so sure if the Bills would be willing to keep him.
Buffalo may have to look for more depth, and Ryan Wilson of CBS Sports has the Bills taking a linebacker out of Notre Dame in Kyngstonn Viliamu-Asa, who plays like Matt Milano did early on his career with the Bills.
"Viliamu-Asa suffered a knee injury late last season, but you wouldn't know it watching him in '26. He's a terror as an off-ball LB or coming off the edge, combining high-level run-stopping instincts with smooth, safety-like coverage skills." said Wilson.
Kynstonn Viliamu-Asa could be Bills' next Matt Milano
I firmly believe that Elarms-Orr can take over as the captain of the defense in the near future if he gets the chance to really prove himself, without having Bernard in the way. However, the Bills have to find their next Matt Milano. Someone who can drop back into coverage and play great sideline-to-sideline football.
Viliamu-Asa recorded 48 total tackles for the FIghting Irish last season, and currently has 13 this season. He's recorded an interception in each season at Notre Dame, and he's also got a couple of pass deflections.
Under this new scheme with Jim Leonhard, there are some major growing pains. It could very well be this type of process throughout the season, and the Bills will need to continue to add pieces after this season. Possibly adding someone like Viliamu-Asa would help open the playbook for the defense because of his ability to drop back into coverage against receivers in the middle of the field.
The linebacker position will be a key position that fans need to pay close attention to. We saw the secondary get a revamp this past offseason. Maybe the same thing could come for this unit next offseason.
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