The Great Tremaine Edmunds Debate

[Mr. WEO]

4 minutes ago, JGMcD2 said:

It has nothing to do with being mature and hard working. That’s not the age argument. Players his age are experiencing these growing pains while still in college. He’s had to endure them while in the NFL. He was able to lean on his size and speed in college, he can’t do that in the pros. 
 

The big knocks on him coming out were that he was able to get away with a lot in college because he was genetically superior. The other was that he needed to put on more size to shed blocks. There’s been some growth but not a lot... is it completely out of the realm to believe he’s still growing and adjusting to his body at 22? 
 

I really don’t know how you can discount the fact that he’s spending formative years in the NFL while most do it in college. What do you think the result is if you dump a bunch of 20 year old players into the NFL?

 

 

 

As Scott pointed out, Devin White is the same age, and has one less year in the NFL.  He's not struggling with "growing pains".

 

Also, Edmunds played at 250 lbs in college, his current weight.  He stopped growing. How long will he continue to "adjust to his body"?

[JGMcD2]

16 minutes ago, ScottLaw said:

Devin White is the same age as Edmunds and that guy is what a stud MLB looks like. 

17 minutes ago, thurst44 said:

Devin White is actually a few months older (semantics) and drafted a year later. He was also selected in the top 5 because he was considered a pretty elite and close to finished product. 
 

Funny enough, his first two seasons aren’t all that different than Tremaine’s. 

2 minutes ago, Mr. WEO said:

 

 

As Scott pointed out, Devin White is the same age, and has one less year in the NFL.  He's not struggling with "growing pains".

 

Also, Edmunds played at 250 lbs in college, his current weight.  He stopped growing. How long will he continue to "adjust to his body"?

 

Just now, JGMcD2 said:

Devin White is actually a few months older (semantics) and drafted a year later. He was also selected in the top 5 because he was considered a pretty elite and close to finished product. 
 

Funny enough, his first two seasons aren’t all that different than Tremaine’s. 

 

[GETTOTHE50]

He needs to get better at reading the play pre-snap. When he does that, he will be able to trust his instincts and use his physicality to dominate. 
 

right now you can see there is some confusion after the snap. It’s really blatant during play action when teams get him to commit to the LoS and throw around him over the middle.

 

His timing on run plays needs to get better too. He’s either too patient or commits too soon which allows for those bigger gains. he needs to see the gap sorta like a RB does and hit it like a RB would. 
 

 

 

 

 

[BADOLBILZ]

48 minutes ago, Beast said:

 

And he consistantly gets voted to the Pro Bowl by his peers because he has cool dreads.

 

 

He gets voted to the Pro Bowl because he plays a devalued position and there simply aren't many good MLB's in the AFC.

 

I mean........name ANY Chiefs linebacker?

 

They are the favorites in the Super Bowl and their LB's are JAG's.

 

If you are going to put big chips into the MLB position he needs to be a playmaking machine..........otherwise it's a waste.

 

 

[wppete]

Convert him to DE. convert Ed Oliver to MLB. 👍

[Richard Noggin]

14 minutes ago, Jpsredemption said:

His love and pro bowl appearances have more to do with his draft status than on field performance. That is pure fact. 

 

I'm not sure you know what that word (fact) means. But I kind of agree with you.

[JGMcD2]

3 minutes ago, BADOLBILZ said:

 

If you are going to put big chips into the MLB position he needs to be a playmaking machine..........otherwise it's a waste.

Agreed on the MLB point. With that being said, aren’t you the one who takes swipes at Beane because he doesn’t do a good enough job of finding elite players and drafting guys with elite traits like Metcalf? 
 

I feel like he made an attempt here and the results have been mixed. Any reason why it’s bad that he made an attempt at this type of player with elite traits? 
 

Also, it’s been like 24 hours and you still haven’t told me which playoff teams have a better cap situation than Buffalo. Waiting on that one because I’m genuinely curious. 

Edited February 5, 2021 by JGMcD2

[JohnNord]

1 hour ago, JaCrispy said:

Edmunds is such a frustrating player...I feel that if he were a mid round pick, we would be looking to upgrade...but because he was a first round pick we are stuck with him, and will likely pay him top dollar...unfortunately...👎

Exactly, Bills fans are with Edmunds where I did not want to be with Josh Allen at the end of year 3, before the season started.

 

The problem with Edmunds is that because of his physical talent and because of the issues at DL, we still don’t know exactly what we have on him at MLB.  That means that Brandon Beane is going to take a leap of faith about his option.  My guess is that he picks it up, especially because he was a first round pick that the Bills traded up for.

 

 

[TailgateChef]

1 hour ago, Frat-Train said:

He’s like the new Star Wars trilogy, by Disney...  Starts pretty cool, but then Suddenly pulls hard to the left in WTF’s-ville.  Here’s hoping he can find his mandalorian and restore a little confidence in fans hearts.

Well done.

[Mr. WEO]

3 minutes ago, JGMcD2 said:

Devin White is actually a few months older (semantics) and drafted a year later. He was also selected in the top 5 because he was considered a pretty elite and close to finished product. 
 

Funny enough, his first two seasons aren’t all that different than Tremaine’s. 

 

 

 

 

So White is a better player right now, at the same age....with fewer "lifetime repetitions"?  lol ok.

 

And Edmunds was absolutely considered "elite" coming out of college. He was a consensus 1st rounder and he was considered in the top 2 LBs by SI, ESPN, Mayock... 

[JohnNord]

33 minutes ago, 97bills said:

I agree with you and yes he has a bunch of tackles but never a big 3 and 1 hit in the backfield to me his just average but I hope he comes around 

He had 1 stop against San Francisco on 4th and goal.  It was a really nice goal line stand that he made.

 

Outside of that hit, it’s hard to remember another one 

[billsfan89]

Edumonds is a solid player. When he gets good DT play in front of him he can be really impactful. But he still has flaws and I worry about his man to man coverage ability.

 

Hoping with Star in front of him in 2021 and him having yet another year under his belt he can take a step up. He has all the physical tools to be an elite player. But he needs to improve his instincts and coverage ability.

[JohnNord]

12 minutes ago, JGMcD2 said:

Devin White is actually a few months older (semantics) and drafted a year later. He was also selected in the top 5 because he was considered a pretty elite and close to finished product. 
 

Funny enough, his first two seasons aren’t all that different than Tremaine’s. 

 

 

I’ll disagree about the first two seasons.  White seems to have made a much bigger impact, at least in season2, than Edmunds did in any of his first 3

3 minutes ago, billsfan89 said:

Edumonds is a solid player. When he gets good DT play in front of him he can be really impactful. But he still has flaws and I worry about his man to man coverage ability.

 

Hoping with Star in front of him in 2021 and him having yet another year under his belt he can take a step up. He has all the physical tools to be an elite player. But he needs to improve his instincts and coverage ability.

The concern there is that the Bills defense was still gashed with Star and Edmunds in the lineup in 2019.  I do think Star will help but I don’t think he suddenly solves all the problems and play at MLB is a big issue.  Edmunds needs to get better

[JGMcD2]

10 minutes ago, Mr. WEO said:

 

 

So White is a better player right now, at the same age....with fewer "lifetime repetitions"?  lol ok.

 

And Edmunds was absolutely considered "elite" coming out of college. He was a consensus 1st rounder and he was considered in the top 2 LBs by SI, ESPN, Mayock... 

They have the same amount of repetitions. It’s just that White’s age 20 season was at LSU while Tremaine’s was in the NFL. 
 

I’m not really privy to the things that White went back to school to work on and what Tremaine has worked on, but I would venture to guess that White was able to focus on his deficiencies in a comfortable environment as a returning player at LSU while Edmunds was adjusting to being a professional player and working on his deficiencies. One guy had a little more on their plate. 
 

Edmunds was considered to have elite traits, but was still seen a development prospect with the ability to develop into an elite player. He fell to 16 for a reason, if he was closer to a finished product with his skill set he’s likely going higher, maybe Top 5 like White? I said pretty elite AND close to finished product for a reason. Both were important to the overall statement. 
 

It’s no longer worth discussing because you will absolutely never move off any of your points as you’ve made very clear before. It’s a waste of my time. 

Edited February 5, 2021 by JGMcD2

[billsfan89]

3 minutes ago, JohnNord said:

I’ll disagree about the first two seasons.  White seems to have made a much bigger impact, at least in season2, than Edmunds did in any of his first 3

The concern there is that the Bills defense was still gashed with Star and Edmunds in the lineup in 2019.  I do think Star will help but I don’t think he suddenly solves all the problems and play at MLB is a big issue.  Edmunds needs to get better

 

The Bills rushing defense did slump in the middle of 2019 but both Star and Edumonds picked up their play. I think if Star plays like his latter half of 2019 form and Edumonds progresses a bit more I think the run defense will be strong enough.

[JohnNord]

35 minutes ago, thurst44 said:

He was also the 22-year-old captain of a top three defense (and the middle linebacker of a top three defense in his rookie season) in 2019 (and 2018). This was a weird pandemic year with no pre-season to get ready (which might just impact a team with mostly new players on the D-line and of course the loss of the mountain in the middle), he played a good portion of the season with a shoulder injury that clearly impaired him (and yet people here are calling him soft). He was playing much better after it healed, even if he made some bad plays. Yes, the Pro Bowl can be laughable, but a lot of that has to do with (1) players making it on reputation and (2) starters not wanting to play so 4th alternates wind up in Hawaii. First off, I may be wrong about this, but I'm pretty sure most of Edmunds' votes came from players and coaches, not fans, so what "rep" is he coasting on? Maybe the players and coaches see things some fans don't. Also, he was voted 1st team this year. 

 

I'm not saying I think he's perfect, or that I don't see some plays that make me shake my head sometimes, but this attitude many here seem to have that he's been a total disappointment feels insane to me. I'm not in favor of extending him right away, but I am excited to see what happens behind a better DL with hopefully Star (or a similar 1T) back, with a normal season, in which (hopefully) he is not hurt.

 

Also, we were 13-3 and a game away from the Super Bowl. Edmunds was a key player on a defense that was dominant two out of his three years (every year where there wasn't a pandemic--limited pre-season and practice does mean something). Why are a good portion of the threads on this site so damn negative. I mean, the week after was one thing, but we're acting like this was a 3-13 team. 

 

I've always felt a bit weird about the phrase Bills Mafia, but I love that it was formed to try to promote fan positivity towards the players. When they attacked Stevie Johnson, the fans had his back. I'm not saying we shouldn't critique players, but some people seem to make it their mission and engage in hyperbole to tear players down. Does anybody here REALLY think Tremaine is terrible?! In any case, ultimately it's up to McD and so far they have given us pretty good reason to trust the damn process.

I don’t think “terrible” is the word but I think that most feel that Edmunds is average to below-average at times.

 

That’s fine but not when you traded multiple draft picks to take him in the first round.  And not when you had so many crowing about his athleticism.  
 

I don’t think you can say that the jury isn’t out on Edmunds.  He has a long way to go

2 minutes ago, billsfan89 said:

 

The Bills rushing defense did slump in the middle of 2019 but both Star and Edumonds picked up their play. I think if Star plays like his latter half of 2019 form and Edumonds progresses a bit more I think the run defense will be strong enough.

I’m not as confident but we’ll see

[JohnNord]

4 minutes ago, JGMcD2 said:

They have the same amount of repetitions. It’s just that White’s age 20 season was at LSU while Tremaine’s was in the NFL. 
 

I’m not really privy to the things that White went back to school to work on and what Tremaine has worked on, but I would venture to guess that White was able to focus on his deficiencies in a comfortable environment as a returning player at LSU while Edmunds was adjusting to being a professional player and working on his deficiencies. One guy had a little more on their plate. 
 

Edmunds was considered to have elite traits, but was still seen a development prospect with the ability to develop into an elite player. He fell to 16 for a reason, if he was closer to a finished product with his skill set he’s likely going higher, maybe Top 5 like White? I said pretty elite AND close to finished product for a reason. Both were important to the overall statement. 
 

It’s no longer worth discussing because you will absolutely never move off any of your points as you’ve made very clear before. It’s a waste of my time. 

You should know what you have in a development prospect after 3 years.  Quarterback is the toughest position in the NFL and we are pretty certain we know what we have in our developmental QB.

 

Time is running out for Edmunds....tick....tick....tick

[JGMcD2]

1 minute ago, JohnNord said:

That’s fine but not when you traded multiple draft picks to take him in the first round.  And not when you had so many crowing about his athleticism.  

They traded a 1st and 3rd to move up in the 1st and got a 5th back as well. It didn’t set the franchise back. I’d say it was pretty reasonable to move up from 22 to 16. 
 

I don’t understand the issue with drafting the player with elite physical traits? I mean people routinely have been bashing Beane for not being aggressive enough and taking players with elite traits, but when he does it and it doesn’t work it was dumb to draft a player with elite traits? 
 

Which one do we want people? Because we can’t flip flop what we B word and moan about. 

[Southern_Bills]

Edmunds is a good player, great? Maybe not yet. 

 

Here's the real question, how do you get better at the position? I would say that's hard to do on the fly. 

 

I would keep Edmunds and get some help in front of him. We are trying to fix something that is no where near the weakest point of our team.

[Hapless Bills Fan]

39 minutes ago, FireChans said:

I do find it frightening that Edmunds looked a whole lot better with Milano back. Obviously, teammates matter especially on defense. But Edmunds was supposed to be All-Pro level. Not sure he’ll ever reach that if he needs a decent LBer next him to play well.

 

Alert the Media: Football is a team sport, and players depend upon their teammates Doing Their Job to work in concert and make plays.

[BADOLBILZ]

6 minutes ago, JGMcD2 said:

Agreed on the MLB point. With that being said, aren’t you the one who takes swipes at Beane because he doesn’t do a good enough job of finding elite players and drafting guys with elite traits like Metcalf? 
 

I feel like he made an attempt here and the results have been mixed. Any reason why it’s bad that he made an attempt at this type of player with elite traits? 
 

Also, it’s been like 24 hours and you still haven’t told me which playoff teams have a better cap situation than Buffalo. Waiting on that one because I’m genuinely curious. 

 

 

Actually I have liked all of the players the Bills selected in round 1 since McD got here.

 

Of course,  at the time,  I assumed Edmunds was going to be an OLB with a chance to be developed as a game-breaking pass rusher.

 

The MLB experiment has resulted in a whole lotta' "meh"...........hasn't worked because Edmunds is just not an instinctive MLB.......that position really needs to be a mirror of the RB position and he is nothing like a RB in any way, shape or form.

 

So keeping him at MLB is a waste of a player who could have had the impact of a TJ Watt, IMO.

 

You can get that 2021 cap room info on spotrac but roughly:

 

Colts $80M

WFT $45M

Bucs $40M

Ravens $30M

Browns $30M

Bills $5M 

 

Chiefs are over the cap by $20M but they are BUILT.    They aren't chasing and their key players are under contract.    The Colts probably have the best roster in the AFC aside from the QB position.   The Ravens are the team most Bills fans are sleeping on because they think Lamar can't pass the ball.    They're wrong.  I don't want to see him get a couple weapons in the passing game but that's exactly what the Ravens are going to do. 

 

[Hapless Bills Fan]

2 hours ago, JohnNord said:

The case against Edmunds:

Majority of Bills Twitter

 

What does this even mean? 

What is the actual meaning of the phrase "Majority of Bills Twitter"?

How do you even quantitate that?

 

Does it mean "the majority of tweets responding to positive tweets about Edmunds by Cover1, Nate Geary etc"?

[thenorthremembers]

Has anyones opinion of Tremaine changed since we had the "Tremaine Edmunds is he good" thread two weeks ago?  I imagine he hasnt gotten any better or worse having not played a down of football since then.

[LABILLBACKER]

When you start talking about Tremaine Edmunds you feel like your head will explode.  So many pros and so many cons. Three years is enough of a sample size to know what you have. Everyone wants to bring up his youth(22) but you can't play that card anymore. His size, speed and athleticism is undeniable. But I hate to be the one to break it to Sean that Tremaine will never be anywhere near Luke Kuechly. Edmund's flaws out weigh his strengths. Poor instincts, inconsistent tackling, lost in the wash. I truly think the only thing that would salvage his career and justify his 1st round status would be what so many have suggested.  Make him an OLB. Let him use his speed and cover skills on the outside and he can also occasionally blitz. He's got too much finesse and not enough Dawg. I don't think we're keeping Milano so what they do with Edmunds will be critical. 

[JGMcD2]

1 minute ago, BADOLBILZ said:

 

 

Actually I have liked all of the players the Bills selected in round 1 since McD got here.

 

Of course,  at the time,  I assumed Edmunds was going to be an OLB with a chance to be developed as a game-breaking pass rusher.

 

The MLB experiment has resulted in a whole lotta' "meh"...........hasn't worked because Edmunds is just not an instinctive MLB.......that position really needs to be a mirror of the RB position and he is nothing like a RB in any way, shape or form.

 

So keeping him at MLB is a waste of a player who could have had the impact of a TJ Watt, IMO.

 

You can get that 2021 cap room info on spotrac but roughly:

 

Colts $80M

WFT $45M

Bucs $40M

Ravens $30M

Browns $30M

Bills $5M 

 

Chiefs are over the cap by $20M but they are BUILT.    They aren't chasing and their key players are under contract.    The Colts probably have the best roster in the AFC aside from the QB position.   The Ravens are the team most Bills fans are sleeping on because they think Lamar can't pass the ball.    They're wrong.  I don't want to see him get a couple weapons in the passing game but that's exactly what the Ravens are going to do. 

 

I can’t necessarily argue with your first point at all. If you’re going to admit you liked Edmunds but think he’s playing out of position, I can’t argue with that at all. 
 

I completely agree with you that the Colts have the best roster in the AFC and probably football outside of the QB position, but I think we can agree that until Ballard finds that long term solution it doesn’t really matter. The cap space doesn’t like it will help that this year. WFT are a pretty flawed team, they’re still missing a QB and really an offense. I do like the pieces they have in McLaurin and Gibson but they’ve got a long way to go. The Bucs have $40M but they have major players like Godwin, Barrett and Brown hitting FA. Those are major players that need to be replaced. The Ravens have major players hitting FA. The Browns need to find an entire defense outside of DE and CB with $30M. 
 

So yes, we’re in a little bit of a pickle cap space wise at the moment and we’re likely losing Milano and Williams in FA. To me cap space and financially are a little different. Sure the Bucs have $40M but Godwin, Brown and Barrett likely eat all of that if they try to bring them back. They won’t really have the ability to upgrade anything either. I guess the difference is they can likely bring all 3 back where we’re going to have to cut/restructure some folks to keep any of our major FA? 
 

We’re also not chasing any of our core guys. Diggs, Dawkins, White are all locked up and Josh has 2 more years and will undoubtedly be locked up himself. 
 

Yes, they have a better cap situation but taking EVERYTHING into account financially which of those teams are really in a better spot than Buffalo? 

[Fan in Chicago]

I wouldn't be surprised if Beane tries to trade him.  In the draft,  you look for the NFL equivalent of a college graduate degree.  Bills shoukd not be in the business of putting players through college and hoping they graduate to be job- worthy in time for a second contract. Especially first rounders

Edited February 5, 2021 by Fan in Chicago

[JohnNord]

14 minutes ago, Hapless Bills Fan said:

 

What does this even mean? 

What is the actual meaning of the phrase "Majority of Bills Twitter"?

How do you even quantitate that?

 

Does it mean "the majority of tweets responding to positive tweets about Edmunds by Cover1, Nate Geary etc"?

Yeah pretty much.  There wasn’t another media member others would recognize.  Tried to keep it simple but I understand where the confusion comes in

[Ethan in Cleveland]

My thoughts about Edmunds have been well documented.  Edmunds is a bottom 10 middle linebacker.  His age is no longer an excuse. He is a 3 year starter in the NFL.  He is not going to get any better reading defenses and making impact plays.  Either he is not smart enough to play the position or he just lacks instincts.  I don't care that he lines up the defense.  Anyone can do that.  I can't recall a single impact play from 2020 made by Edmunds.  

I still believe he would be a star at OLB.  

I don't know and in fact I doubt McD will move him to OLB though.  Hope I am wrong.

[Success]

Just now, Ethan in Portland said:

My thoughts about Edmunds have been well documented.  Edmunds is a bottom 10 middle linebacker.  His age is no longer an excuse. He is a 3 year starter in the NFL.  He is not going to get any better reading defenses and making impact plays.  Either he is not smart enough to play the position or he just lacks instincts.  I don't care that he lines up the defense.  Anyone can do that.  I can't recall a single impact play from 2020 made by Edmunds.  

I still believe he would be a star at OLB.  

I don't know and in fact I doubt McD will move him to OLB though.  Hope I am wrong.

 

RE: the bolded.  He is 22.

 

 

[BuffaloRebound]

Nobody cares how old he is anymore.  His dad played in the NFL for 7 years and is a high school football coach.  He’s got 2 brothers in the NFL, he started for 3 years at an ACC upper echelon school, and has started for 3 years in the NFL.  If he’s still raw with his bloodlines and playing experience, it’s not happening.  This is the year he’s gotta put it together.  

[BADOLBILZ]

13 minutes ago, JGMcD2 said:

I can’t necessarily argue with your first point at all. If you’re going to admit you liked Edmunds but think he’s playing out of position, I can’t argue with that at all. 
 

I completely agree with you that the Colts have the best roster in the AFC and probably football outside of the QB position, but I think we can agree that until Ballard finds that long term solution it doesn’t really matter. The cap space doesn’t like it will help that this year. WFT are a pretty flawed team, they’re still missing a QB and really an offense. I do like the pieces they have in McLaurin and Gibson but they’ve got a long way to go. The Bucs have $40M but they have major players like Godwin, Barrett and Brown hitting FA. Those are major players that need to be replaced. The Ravens have major players hitting FA. The Browns need to find an entire defense outside of DE and CB with $30M. 
 

So yes, we’re in a little bit of a pickle cap space wise at the moment and we’re likely losing Milano and Williams in FA. To me cap space and financially are a little different. Sure the Bucs have $40M but Godwin, Brown and Barrett likely eat all of that if they try to bring them back. They won’t really have the ability to upgrade anything either. I guess the difference is they can likely bring all 3 back where we’re going to have to cut/restructure some folks to keep any of our major FA? 
 

We’re also not chasing any of our core guys. Diggs, Dawkins, White are all locked up and Josh has 2 more years and will undoubtedly be locked up himself. 
 

Yes, they have a better cap situation but taking EVERYTHING into account financially which of those teams are really in a better spot than Buffalo? 

 

 

I agree with most of that but the Bills are most definitely chasing their elite pass rusher...........that's where I find the Edmunds usage discouraging. 

[Hapless Bills Fan]

55 minutes ago, RunJoshRun said:

Very low (or lowest) Wonderlic score in his class of LB's and the coaches are oh so gentle with him!

 

Just curious, what do you think the Wonderlic score tells us about a guy's ability to understand and play football?

 

The tests I've seen look like a cross between an older SAT (vocabulary, math) and an intelligence test (logic, spatial reasoning).

 

I'm not sure how well they predict one's ability to play football.

[Rock-A-Bye Beasley]

40 minutes ago, Fan in Chicago said:

I wouldn't be surprised if Beane tries to trade him.  In the draft,  you look for the NFL equivalent of a college graduate degree.  Bills shoukd not be in the business of putting players through college and hoping they graduate to be job- worthy in time for a second contract. Especially first rounders

I really hope so. He made the pro bowl but I don’t think he’s even worth the 5th year option. I was a fan of his scouting report before we even drafted him , but he has been a disappointment especially against the run. 
 

maybe there’s a GM that will be enticed by his measurable’s and pro bowl selection and doesn’t have access to any of his tape. 

[PrimeTime101]

14 minutes ago, Hapless Bills Fan said:

 

Just curious, what do you think the Wonderlic score tells us about a guy's ability to understand and play football?

 

The tests I've seen look like a cross between an older SAT (vocabulary, math) and an intelligence test (logic, spatial reasoning).

 

I'm not sure how well they predict one's ability to play football.

https://bleacherreport.com/articles/1536402-comparing-wonderlic-scores-of-nfl-stars

 

This article clearly states why they have people do the wonderlic. But it also shows it does not always mean that player will be worse or better on the fly.

 

If we followed this set of scores 

 

Wonderlic scores for 2018 QBs

Josh Allen: 37

Josh Rosen: 29

Sam Darnold: 28

Baker Mayfield: 25

Lamar Jackson: 13

 

Obviously Rosen is the second best QB in the league right?

[Hebert19]

3 hours ago, Beast said:

Edmunds is a damned good player. I will leave it at that. 

I agree.  Hes good and hes 22.  He needs to be set up for success next year.  Star back and let him run.  

[JGMcD2]

1 hour ago, BADOLBILZ said:

 

 

I agree with most of that but the Bills are most definitely chasing their elite pass rusher...........that's where I find the Edmunds usage discouraging. 

Yeah I think that’s fair, but if you look at the fact we have a player who has the ability to be that player already on the roster, we’re in an enviable position compared to say, the Colts who don’t have their QB on the roster or the Ravens who aren’t pulling an impact WR out of thin air.
 

When looking at acquiring the tools to make a team successful, I think Beane has added a player that has the ability to be an impact player at the key spots. We might not necessarily have to “chase” a player like other teams.
 

I would say the 5 most important positions, in order, are QB, LT, DE/Pass Rusher, CB, WR. We’ve straight up secured 4/5 of those that we can argue are actually elite. Allen, Dawkins, White and Diggs. The pass rusher is missing, BUT if you’re right, he is already on the roster. 

 

If we want to look at those other teams for comparison real quick..

 

IND

 

QB: ?

LT: It’s may be Nelson who is an elite guard

DE/RUSH: Leonard

CB: ? (Rhodes if they bring him back)

WR: Pittman looks solid, but hardly elite
 

WSH:

 

QB: Yikes

LT: ?

DE: Chase Young, uh huh. 
CB: ?

WR: McLaurin

 

BAL:

 

QB: Jackson

LT: Stanley

DE: ? Judon/Yannick if brought back

CB: A few guys here

WR: ? Hollywood Brown but he’s not elite 

 

TB:

 

QB: Brady

LT: Donovan Smith

DE: ? guys need to be brought back, but Barrett

CB: Some young guys there

WR: Evans and Godwin if brought back 

 

CLE:

 

QB: Baker

LT: Wills

DE: Garrett

CB: Ward

WR: Odell 

 

When looking at it that way, I would say without a doubt I wouldn’t want to be WSH or IND (Solely because there’s no path to a QB right now). 
 

BAL, TB, CLE I guess you can argue for them over Buffalo. I personally would take all of our guys over everyone CLE has except Garrett. BAL I’d prefer Stanley to Dawkins maybe and then whichever pass rusher. TB I think has the best situation on paper, but that’s why they’re in the Super Bowl. 
 

I would take Buffalo’s situation and future situation over just about every team in the league. I personally feel KC has been the best run organization since McBeane got here. IND is #2, but the QB is a huge issue, it’s not all their fault but if they don’t find one it’s a waste. After that I legitimately think you can make an argument for BUF, BAL and NO (yes, I know the cap issues but they’re really very good at finding talent) to round out the top 5. 
 

Beane has found talent at all the key positions, sans RUSH but we think we might have one. If he can find one/repurpose Edmunds and get Josh a play making TE (Knox is another frustrating player but has the toolbox of skills where MAYBE it could be him) I really think we’re in a better spot than almost any other team, because from there it becomes finding some value plays in FA and some contributors in later rounds, which they’ve shown they can do... budget will be tighter so the value plays will be guys even further down the list, but they’ve shown they’re capable. 
 

Getting that elite pass rusher REALLY changes everything though. 

Edited February 5, 2021 by JGMcD2

[DJB]

Physically gifted player but just doesn't have the intelligence, instincts or willingness to step up and get his nose dirty to play MLB. 

[bobobonators]

Theres a lot that has been said here about his age, his instincts, scheme usage etc. I feel hes not yet an impact player. He misses too many plays - he either hits the wrong hole or when he gets it right he misses a tackle too frequently. I want Edmunds to be as great as he’s sometimes portrayed - its not common to say this of Bills players in the media, but Edmunds tends to be overrated by announcers.

 

Hes been good but not great (so far) in my opinion. 

[FireChans]

2 hours ago, Hapless Bills Fan said:

 

Alert the Media: Football is a team sport, and players depend upon their teammates Doing Their Job to work in concert and make plays.

yeah, when Ray Lewis played poorly it was because his OLB whats-his-name was out!

[Boxcar]

Erik and Nate? Not sure if it was Nate that time, but Erik did at least one video breakdown of Tremaine Edmunds. I left coming away with the impression that his issues are 99% he doesn't know where he has to be and makes bad decisions. I also don't agree that he's a bad tackler. When he is able to read the play correctly and has to fill a gap, nothing is coming out the other side.

 

I agree he needs to be better at shedding blocks, too. I don't think the excuse of him being 22 is a bad one. It's very valid. Reading offenses in the NFL is hard. Some players take longer to get it than others. Edmunds' physical package is well worth the risk that he never really gets it.