Sacks, INTs, and tackles, oh my!
2024 is a season of transition for the Buffalo Bills, a fact that well-known to anyone paying even slight attention to the team these last six months. Bills general manager Brandon Beane has used the term to describe the upcoming season, which remains true even if the most important position is as solid as it’s ever been in the history of the franchise.
Still, with transition comes new leaders. Not just new leadership with a “C” on their chests, but also opportunities for new statistical leaders for Buffalo. When you have mainstays like Jordan Poyer, Tre’Davious White, Micah Hyde, and Stefon Diggs, the question of who will lead the team in interceptions or receiving yards gets a little bit easier.
So, with this transition comes the opportunity for new names at the top of the leaderboards at the end of the season. Which Buffalo Bills will lead the team in each of the relevant raw counting statistics for the 2024 regular season?
Let me offer a guess on the defensive side of the ball — though I’ll leave the actual stats predictions to you in the comments.
Buffalo Bills sacks leader: DT Ed Oliver
Passing rushing from the edge is one of the concerns for the Bills’ defensive line in 2024, with defensive ends A.J. Epenesa and Gregory Rousseau slated to occupy the starting roles in a heavy rotation system that will hope to get a boost from a healthier Von Miller, free-agent acquisitions Dawuane Smoot and Casey Toohill, and fifth-round selection Javon Solomon. Importantly, Ed Oliver played the highest percentage of Buffalo’s defensive snaps in 2023 (68.10%) among defensive linemen.
After a career year that included 11 sacks, 65 pressures, and 48 quarterback hurries along with the historical precedent of a Sean McDermott defense that has had a defensive tackle lead all defensive linemen in snap percentage each of the last three years, Oliver looks primed for another heavy workload relative to his line running mates. With the return of DaQuan Jones on a two-year deal, Oliver appears likely to once again thrive in an environment that should allow him to lead the team in QB takedowns.
Buffalo Bills leader in tackles: Terrel Bernard
Bernard or Matt Milano were the obvious top two candidates for this prediction. Milano is working his way back from a broken leg suffered against the Jacksonville Jaguars in Week 5 of the 2023 regular season, and Bernard has emerged as a star in the last 12 months (despite fantasy analysts who don’t watch the team stating otherwise), bringing impact plays to a defense that was looking for periodic splashes in Milano’s absence. For the four full games when Milano and Bernard played together, Milano totaled 27 combined tackles to Benard’s 29.
Since the 2018 season, the middle linebacker in Buffalo’s defense, regardless of Leslie Frazier or Sean McDermott calling plays (Tremaine Edmunds), out-tackled the overhang-centric Milano. While the Bills do have a new defensive coordinator in 2024 (with Bobby Babich appearing likely to also take over play calling), with the re-signing of nickel corner Taron Johnson to a new deal that makes him the highest paid player at his position in football, it doesn’t appear likely that enough of a dramatic shift to defensive philosophy is occurring that it would push Bernard out of the “likely to be the highest grossing tackler on the roster” spot.
Buffalo Bills interceptions leader: Rasul Douglas
Bills cornerback Christian Benford may be one of the best-kept secrets in the National Football League (which seems to be a trend amongst Buffalo back-seven defenders, given Terrel Bernard’s lack of publicity). But Douglas’ aggressive style of play and length will simultaneously lead to big games with impact defensive plays (three games with a passer rating against his coverage of less than 60, two games with multiple interceptions since joining the Bills for Week 9 in 2023) and games where the offense can get a few from him (four games with a passer rating against his overage of greater than 90).
With a brand new set of safeties replacing stalwarts Micah Hyde and Jordan Poyer, the other members of the Bills’ defensive backfield may need to carry the play-making load for the new faces, and Douglas appears a reasonable choice to continue his strong ball production as he angles for a new deal in Buffalo or elsewhere in the final year of his contract.
...and that’s the way the cookie crumbles. I’m Bruce Nolan with Buffalo Rumblings. You can find me on Twitter and Instagram @BruceExclusive.