The Buffalo Bills' regular season is done and with an 11 - 6 record, they have completed their fourth straight AFC East championship. After dispatching the Miami Dolphins and securing the division title, they now have the number two seed in the AFC playoffs and are set to host the Pittsburgh Steelers this weekend.
How did the Bills get here though? They battled through a multitude of injuries, including losing Tre'Davious White and Matt Milano to season-ending injuries early in the season. They also lost DaQuan Jones about the same time for the majority of the regular season. The Bills showed resiliency and excellent roster depth with guys like Poona Ford, Jordan Phillips, and Tim Settle helping to fill the void left by DaQuan Jones. They also had Dane Jackson help when White went down until the team brought in Rasul Douglas via a mid-season trade.
What about the linebackers, rookie Dorian Williams did his part, as did Baylon Spector more recently. Tyrel Dodson stepped in and has played well too. Cam Lewis, Siran Neal, and Damar Hamlin all played roles at some point too. But who on this roster surprised the most of Bills Mafia? For the team to be where they are right now, a few guys needed to step up and they did just that. Let's take a look at my five guys that surprised us all.
Khalil Shakir - Wide receiver
Let me just start by saying that I am a huge fan of Khalil Shakir. If you've read enough of my stuff, you know I live in the Boise area and watched Shakir's collegiate career. Even though many fans were down on him in his rookie year for some of his drops, I knew he could catch, and that rookie season was an aberration of who he could become.
What I didn't realize is just how good he would become and the impact he would end up having on the Bills' offense. He's become the Bills most dependable receiver, even before Diggs or Kincaid. Shakir leads all receivers in the NFL with a catch rate of 86.7 percent. To put that into context, Kincaid and Diggs' 2023 catch rate was 80.2 and 66.9, respectively. Shakir completed his 2023 regular season with 39 receptions, 611 yards and two touchdowns. I can't wait to see what he does in the playoffs.
Spencer Brown - Offensive tackle
Very few fans were confident in Spencer Brown and I'm going to toot my own horn here, I'm not right very often, just ask my wife, but I was not on the "replace Spencer Brown" train. I still believed even after last season that he could be a solid right tackle. He showed enough for me during his rookie year to believe in him, plus he battled through injuries last season. The Bills brass still believed in him and he's awarded them with maybe the best job at right tackle we've seen in years.
Brown's overall Pro Football Focus grade isn't the greatest, earning a 68.1 but he also had a run block grade of 71.9, which ranks 21st among all offensive tackles. He allowed five sacks and committed nine penalties in 2023, so there is still room for improvement but for where he was a season ago, he made leaps and bounds in year three. His year four should be even better.
Ed Oliver - Interior defensive line
Simply put....wow! What a performance Ed Oliver has given the Bills, another player that the coaching staff believed in when the rest of the fan base did not. He was given a new contract extension last offseason, and he has far and away outplayed that contract already. Many debated whether the Bills should have resigned Tremaine Edmunds and let Oliver walk but thank goodness the coaching staff is smarter than the rest of us. Oliver was one I was looking for the team to trade to create some space and gain additional draft capital.
This was one of those that I was massively wrong on. Oliver finished the year with 51 total tackles and per Pro Football Focus, he finished with 11 sacks. (PFF doesn't count half sacks). Per ESPN, he finished with 9.5. He also had 65 total pressures and he earned a pass-rush grade of 74.6.
Christian Benford - Cornerback
Christian Benford had a solid rookie year, after rotating with first-round pick Kaiir Elam and if not for a mid-season injury, Benford likely would have taken the number two corner spot full-time. Instead, he would have to wait a season to get that opportunity. In the beginning of this season, it was a battle between Elam, Benford, and Dane Jackson for that second spot. It wasn't until after Tre'Davious White's injury that we saw Benford in more of a full-time role. Elam was injured and ultimately placed on IR. Benford hasn't disappointed.
Benford has two interceptions on the year and ten pass breakups, to go with 48 solo tackles. PFF graded him an overall of 82.2, with a coverage grade of 82.4 and a run defense of 75.6. His overall ranks him eighth among all qualifying corners in the league, which ties him with Buffalo's own Rasul Douglas. Benford and Douglas have teamed up to form one of the best cornerback duos in the league and are the only team with two corners in the top ten PFF grades.
Terrel Bernard - Middle linebacker
I was more hopeful than confident with Terrel Bernard. I know when Bernard was selected in the 2022 draft, most fans were upset with the selection, especially since we still had Edmunds and I think most people expected the Bills to extend Edmunds. Drafting Bernard in the third round probably should have been our first clue that the team was at least considering a transition away from Edmunds.
Per ESPN stats, Bernard finished the 2023 regular season with 143 total tackles, including 84 solo. He also added 6.5 sacks and three interceptions. Bernard is making splash plays nearly every week and is the quarterback of the Bills' defense and helped elevate this unit to become one of the best in the league heading into the playoffs.