Bills’ top three defensive players ranked among NFL’s worst

The Buffalo Bills’ defense was expectedly stout in the 2023 NFL season, finishing ninth in the league in total defense and fourth in points allowed. Strong defensive play has become a Buffalo hallmark over the past several years; the team has finished with a top-10 defense in five of head coach Sean McDermott’s seven seasons at the helm, finishing with a top-five unit four times and with the top defense in the league twice.

The sustained excellence can be attributed to several factors, with continuity amongst the coaching staff and consistent excellence from the team’s defensive players being among the most paramount. The Bills’ defense figures to be stout yet again in the 2024 season, as the team, though experiencing significant turnover in the spring, is returning nine defensive starters.

This sentiment has not necessarily been reflected in Sports Illustrated’s latest NFL “defensive triplets” ranking in which writer Gilberto Manzano identified the top three players on each defense around the league and ranked them amongst each other; the analyst chose defensive tackle Ed Oliver, linebacker Matt Milano, and cornerback Rasul Douglas as the team’s top three defenders, ranking the group as the 29th best—or fourth worst—defensive trio in the league.

Related: Matt Milano praised, Terrel Bernard snubbed in NFL linebacker rankings

“Oliver has been a steady force in the middle of the Bills’ defense the past few seasons, but the Bills could use a star edge rusher to help him on the defensive front,” Manzano wrote. “Milano will look to return to his All-Pro form after an injury-riddled season. Douglas immediately improved the Bills’ secondary after being traded by the Green Bay Packers midway through the year.”

To borrow a quote from renowned thespian James E. Carrey in the intellectually stimulating drama Ace Ventura: Pet Detective, “alrighty then.”

Manzano certainly identified three talented and deserving players as the defense’s best (though we’d like to give recognition to perennially excellent nickel defender Taron Johnson, breakout linebacker Terrel Bernard, and defensive end Greg Rousseau). Oliver cemented himself as one of the league’s best interior pass rushers in the 2023 season, notching a career-high 9.5 sacks and an impressive 72 total quarterback pressures, per PFF. Milano was on track for yet another stellar year before fracturing his tibia in Week 5, while Douglas was strong after being acquired at the trade deadline, tallying eight pass deflections and four interceptions.

Related: How do Bills TEs stack up against league’s best in new ranking?

Buffalo’s positioning relative to the rest of the league is a bit odd, however—29th? There are certainly excellent defensive talents across the NFL, and one could make the argument that the Bills’ defense has long been one that primarily succeeds thanks to scheme and general cohesion as opposed to individual elite talents; that said, to say that 28 other clubs have a stronger top three defensive players than Buffalo seems like a stretch. 

Only the Arizona Cardinals, Washington Commanders, and Minnesota Vikings rank below the Bills on Manzano’s list. Questionable teams ranked significantly higher than Buffalo include the Carolina Panthers, Denver Broncos, and the New England Patriots, among several others.

It’s certainly an odd ranking for the Bills, but it’s fair for an outsider to be skeptical about the team as a whole given their offseason maneuvering. Buffalo will simply have to prove its doubters wrong throughout the 2024 season.