Pro Football Focus predicts Buffalo Bills starting lineup with some surprises

For the most part, I agree with PFF's roster predictions but there were a few surprises. Every media outlet out there puts out their roster projections this time of the year. While they are fun to read and speculate, no one knows for sure and there are almost always some surprise cuts, but let's look at what PFF believes.

Middle Linebacker

The Buffalo Bills have a few position battles coming, one of which is at middle linebacker. With the departure of Tremaine Edmunds, there is a vacancy at the position. The candidates to replace him are A.J. Klein, Tyrel Dodson, Terrel Bernard, Baylon Spector, and rookie Dorian Willians. It's anyone's guess who wins the role and will be something to watch throughout training camp and the pre-season. PFF selected Tyrel Dodson to start at middle linebacker for the Bills.

Number Two Cornerback

The one position that was the most surprising though was at the second cornerback spot. PFF has Dane Jackson taking this spot, over both Kaiir Elam and Christian Benford. I think CB2 will come down to either Elam or Benford. Benford earned the starting role at the beginning of the 2022 season; however, he was sidelined for the remainder of the season. This allowed Elam to get more playing time and he started to show the traits that made him the Bills number-one pick in 2022.

Edge Defender

PFF's starting roster includes three edge defenders, which is fine, especially considering the Bills' pension for rotating as much as they do. PFF selected Von Miller and Gregory Rousseau, which is right in line with my thoughts; however, the third edge defender they chose was Shaq Lawson. I like Lawson on this roster, as he's a solid run defender and has played his best seasons in this defense but Leonard Floyd is the guy for me. I believe Floyd will be a major part of a primarily three-man rotation with Miller and Rousseau.

Offensive Guard

This is the last of the questionable selections from PFF. The two starting guards they have here are Connor McGovern and Ryan Bates. I agree with McGovern, but not so sure Bates wins the job over rookie O'Cyrus Torrence. I would love to see Torrence win the job and let Bates focus more on being the backup center. We know he can play the position and given Mitch Morse's concussion history, I think it would be beneficial to have Bates prepared to play center without having to reshuffle the entire line.

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