BUFFALO, NY. (WKBW) — On the very day Tremaine Edmunds signed with the Chicago Bears. The Buffalo Bills defense had some big shoes to fill.
"You look at your team and you say there are different challenges every offseason. And the challenges this offseason are with the middle linebacker position," said Bills head coach Sean McDermott.
The good news for the Bills iss that they may already have the guy to do so on the roster now. Bills Beat reporter for The Athletic, Joe Buscaglia weighs in on who is standing out with OTA’s and minicamp out of the way.
“I think it really boils down to three players. That being Terrel Bernard. Their 2022 third round pick. Tyrel Dodson who I believe has been in the system since I believe 2019. And then their third round pick from this year, Dorian Williams.”
This of course doesn’t rule out guys like AJ Klein, and Baylon Spector. But aside from welcoming the competition for the starting job. A key reason why it’s hard to put your finger on the bonafide guy here is because we still need to see the physicality that this position demands.
“I’ve been fooled before by guys who show up this time of year. Then when the pads come on they don’t show up," McDermott says. "I think you have to be a little patient right now in terms of over-evaluating and coming to a conclusion on a player too fast.”
And that physicality also allows other important aspects of the job to shine through.
“Seeing how these guys do as a matchup linebacker in coverage is the most important thing. And from what I saw over OTA’s and minicamp. It seemed like each of those guys flashed in that department," Buscaglia adds.
