Overlooked LB named Bills' 'non-QB MVP' entering 2024 NFL season
Everybody with a pulse and a passing knowledge of professional football knows who the Buffalo Bills’ irrefutable MVP is entering the 2024 NFL season.
It’s their quarterback. Their franchise player. Their regional icon. It’s Josh Allen.
The signal-caller has evolved into one of Western New York’s most beloved and celebrated sports figures of all time since his selection in the first round of the 2018 NFL Draft, a wholly unique quarterback who has dragged the Bills from the depths of NFL irrelevancy into perennial contention. He’s achieved both team and personal success, leading Buffalo to five straight postseason appearances (and four consecutive AFC East titles) as he’s established himself as one of the league’s most dynamic players.
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This is simply recycling widely known and accepted information, however. (Most) people who watch football understand that Allen is quite good and the Bills will ebb and flow based on his production. When discussing team-specific ‘most valuable players,’ it’s far more useful an exercise (and entertaining) to omit the quarterback position, as most NFL teams will only go as far as their quarterback will take them.
This is exactly what The Athletic has done in a recent article identifying one ‘non-quarterback MVP’ for each team club entering the 2024 season. The outlet circled an inspired choice for Buffalo, with beat reporter Tim Graham singling out nationally underrated linebacker Terrel Bernard as Buffalo’s most important non-signal caller.
“Oh, who on the 2023 roster could possibly replace Tremaine Edmunds?” Graham wrote. “Still just 19 years old when the Bills drafted him 16th overall in 2018, Edmunds wore the green dot that opening day, starting all 82 games he played and eventually became a captain before joining the Chicago Bears as a free agent.
“Then came Bernard, who didn’t just fill the void but overflowed it with splash plays. After starting once as a rookie, his sophomore campaign led the Bills with 143 tackles, along with three interceptions, three fumble recoveries, 6 ½ sacks and 10 tackles for losses. But his value was most realized in his absence. An ankle injury kept him from dressing for the narrow playoff loss to Kansas City in the playoffs. Had Bernard been on the field instead of A.J. Klein, Buffalo probably wins.”
Graham set the stage well—at this time last year, the Buffalo faithful was questioning what the Bills were doing at middle linebacker. With five-year starter and two-year Pro Bowler Tremaine Edmunds gone, Buffalo was planning to host a three-way competition between A.J. Klein, Tyrel Dodson, and Terrel Bernard throughout the summer to fill the glaring hole in the middle of its defense.
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The team planned to replace a stalwart with a veteran journeyman, a career special-teamer, or a recent third-round draft pick.
Fast forward a year, and the concern looks a bit silly. Bernard ultimately won the competition and thrived in the role, with Graham listing his statistics in a way that effectively illustrates his impact. He was arguably more noticeable in the role that Edmunds ever was, making several impact plays throughout the season. His penchant for being in the right place at the right time and his ‘nose for the football’ were akin to those of fellow Buffalo linebacker Matt Milano, his ranginess and coverage ability essentially allowing the Bills to deploy two Milanos at once (until the All-Pro’s Week 5 tibia fracture).
Bernard did not receive any national accolades for his 2023 breakout, something that has since irked the team’s fanbase. That said, he’s an integral piece of Buffalo’s defense, and as Graham suggests, the unit will rely on his continued excellence in 2024. New Buffalo defensive coordinator Bobby Babich is confident in his ability to maintain his superb play; during a recent appearance on the Centered on Buffalo podcast, he stated that the linebacker's “just got it.”
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KYLE SILAGYI