Getty Jordan Poyer #21 of the Buffalo Bills reacts after the defense forces a turnover by the New England Patriots during the fourth quarter at Gillette Stadium on December 26, 2021 in Foxborough, Massachusetts.
There are still 71 days before the Buffalo Bills take on the Los Angeles Rams at SoFi Stadium in the highly-anticipated 2022 NFL season opener on Thursday, September 8, and until then, team rankings and predicted starting roster lineup are mere projections.
On Monday, June 27, Pro Football Focus shared a graphic on Twitter with analyst Mike Renner’s Top-10 rankings of the secondaries in the NFL, and Bills safety Jordan Poyer took issue with his list and sent out two tweets slamming the ratings.
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Renner has Buffalo’s secondary ranked sixth, just behind the Miami Dolphins, while the Baltimore Ravens nabbed the top spot. Filing out No. 2 through No. 4, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Cleveland Browns, and the Green Bay Packers.
Poyer first retweeted the graphic and wrote, “🤣🤣🤣🤣.” In the second retweet, Poyer personally calls out the analyst. “PFF mike needs a new hobby,” the All-Pro safety tweeted.
In a corresponding article, Renner further detailed the reasoning behind his rankings, noting this classification was based on his assessment of Poyer, Micah Hyde, Tre’Davious White, Kaiir Elam, and Taron Johnson.
Renner wrote, “A lot of how the Bills ultimately perform as a secondary falls on Tre’Davious White’s health after he tore his ACL last season. It also falls on how quickly first-rounder Kaiir Elam can adjust to the NFL game. That being said, Buffalo still fields the most consistent safety duo in the NFL — both Micah Hyde and Jordan Poyer earned top-eight grades at the position last season.”
The Twitter Reaction to Poyer’s Discourse With PFF was Strongly Mixed
GettyJordan Poyer #21 of the Buffalo Bills celebrates after making an interception in the fourth quarter against the Miami Dolphins at Highmark Stadium on October 31, 2021.
The reaction to Poyer laughing off Renner’s rankings was strongly mixed, even among Bills Mafia. One man responded, “My dude, Bills fan since 85. Maybe sit this out until you win a Superbowl. Many of us are still in pain after Pat, Travis & Tyreek peaced you out. One stop was all you had to make. One stop. Be humble. Go Bills!”
Other fans were on the same page as Poyer. One person tweeted, “Yeah, I’m not sure why he has you guys as high as six either 🤷🏻♂️ The man gets to have his opinion tho,” while a Buffalo Rumblings contributor commented, “They bored bro. This is the dead part of the off-season. They need engagement 😂,” to which Poyer replied, “Man look! 🤣.”
There goes JORDAN POYER!
PFF contributor EJ Daniels defended his co-worker. “This list is more than fair!” Daniels tweeted.
Other Bills fans loved that PFF was sleeping on Bufffalo’s secondary, hoping these rankings would only further inspire the team. “I’m happy my boys see this foolery,” one fan tweeted, while another person urged, “Now unleash your fury on the league!”
The Bills Still Have One of the Top-Ranked Defenses Heading into Next Season
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Jordan Poyer
The Bills’ defense as a whole, which was ranked No. 1 last season, is universally projected to remain dominant in 2022.
CBS Sports analyst Jared Dubin ranked defenses on how likely they are to finish the year among the league’s Top 10, and put the Bills in the “Most Likely” category, along with the Rams and New Orleans Saints.
“Buffalo finished last season first in DVOA, EPA per play, yards per play, and points per drive, then added Von Miller to a deep group of edge rushers,” Dubin wrote. “Even with Tre’Davious White potentially missing part of the season rehabbing his ACL tear, the Bills seem like a near lock to have a top defense.”
Us remembering that @VonMiller is a Buffalo Bill…
Bleacher Report’s Alex Ballentine wrote following the 2022 NFL Draft that the Bills had the No. 1 best defense, for nearly the exact same reasons Dubin put forward:
Whatever metric you want to look at, the Bills were likely No. 1 last year. DVOA, FPI, points per game, yards per play…it doesn’t matter, the Bills’ defense was the best. Now add Von Miller to replace Jerry Hughes and put rookie cornerback Kaiir Elam across from Tre’Davious White and you have the 2022 version of the Bills defense. The addition of an elite pass-rusher to an already top-tier defense separates this unit from the rest of the pack…. As long as Elam has a successful rookie season and Von Miller continues to play at a high level, this defense should be the best in the NFL.
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