Through his first three seasons in Buffalo, Bills linebacker Tremaine Edmunds has solidified himself as one of the best prospects at his position.
Even though he’s just 22-years-old, Edmunds has started in all 46 games he’s played in and he’s also been named to two Pro Bowls in the past two years. He’s tallied over 100 tackles in each of his first three years and has racked up a total of 355 as he’s held down the middle of the Bills defense with fellow linebacker Matt Milano.
Despite his play, Edmunds is still seen as a project by some and now he says he’s ready to wake people up.
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Edmunds Believes He Still Has Room to Grow
Because he was so young when started for the Bills as a rookie, Edmunds was touted as one of Buffalo’s top prospects and has the potential to anchor the Bills defense for years to come. He’s had success so far in his career, but the former Virginia Tech Hokie believes he still has even more room to grow.
In a recent interview on Good Morning Football, Edmunds was asked to give himself a letter grade for his play through the first three years of his career. He gave himself a B- because he feels like he has so much more room to grow.
“I’ve done some really good things, but at the same time, I know what I can do,” Edmunds said. “I know my talents and I know pretty much how far I can take this linebacker position as far as where I want to see myself in a few years. So as far as a letter grade, like I said I’m tough, so I’d say like a B-, and that’s give or take just because I know what I can do and I know where I can be at.”
Even with the success that Edmunds has had through the first three years of his career, the praise he’s received hasn’t come without people doubting his abilities. Throughout last year, Edmunds was criticized for his play as he played through a shoulder injury that made him miss Buffalo’s Week 2 matchup with the Miami Dolphins.
That was the only game Edmunds missed and during Buffalo’s next 11 games he played 97% or more of Buffalo’s defensive snaps in each game. He went on to record 119 tackles, four tackles for a loss, and also deflected three passes. But, Edmunds believes he’s just getting started.
“I feel like I’m nowhere near where I need to be, so I’m just getting back to the drawing board,” Edmunds said. “Soon, the people that are sleeping on me, I’m gonna wake ’em all up and let them know what I can do out there.”
Edmunds and Matt Milano are Back Together
Since Edmunds was drafted in 2018, he and Milano have held down the center of Buffalo’s defense and after Milano signed a 4-year, $44 million deal, the two will be together again.
They’ve complemented each other well over the past three years and during his video conference call with media earlier this week, Milano said he and Edmunds are still projecting upwards as teammates.
“I feel like Tremaine (Edmunds) and myself haven’t even reached our best ball yet,” Milano said.
As teammates, the pair has recorded 579 tackles and have started in 33 regular season games together while providing Buffalo’s front office with a look at what the future might look like in Buffalo at the linebacker position.
Edmunds is Hungry to Get Back to Football
For the first time since 1993, the Bills made the AFC Championship this past season and they surprised a lot of people as one of the stronger teams in the AFC as they won the AFC East for the first time since 1995 as well. Edmunds has been one of the cornerstones for the Bills turnaround over the past four years and the former No. 16 overall pick is excited to get back to it.
“Since I’ve stepped foot in Buffalo, there’s been guys around me that all we do is work,” Edmunds said. “We got a lot of guys on this team that don’t really care about that spotlight so we just show up to work. We put that hard hat on and we just go to work. That’s the Buffalo Bill way and that’s been the culture here for a long time and I’m glad to be a part of it.”
Edmunds said the Bills woke a lot of people up last season as they earned a regular season record of 13-3 and beat both the Indianapolis Colts and the Baltimore Ravens in the NFL playoffs. Now the Bills are on a lot of people’s radar’s and they are ready to play with a target on their back.
“We’re not scared of that at all, we look forward to that and a lot of teams are going to look forward to playing us,” Edmunds said. “That’s how we were and we’re hungry still, so we’re trying to go get us one.”
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