State of the Bills MLB Competition

When Tremaine Edmunds signed a four year, 72 Million dollar, contact with the Chicago Bears this past offseason the Bills were forced to face a decision they had not had to think about since he was drafted 16^th overall in 2018. Who will be the starting middle linebacker this season?

Rather than making a free agent splash, the Bills have chosen to fill the spot in-house and through the draft. And with the season opener just under three weeks away a clear week one starter has still not emerged from the pack.

Let’s take a look at the options and who might be patrolling the middle of the defense when the Bills take the field in week one.

Tyrel Dodson

Dodson is a fourth year linebacker out of Texas A&M who has spent the last three seasons with the Bills, mostly on special teams and making a couple of spot starts due to injury. Coming into camp it appeared he may have the inside track to earn the starting position, but after failing to run away with the job, or really solidifying himself into the role, it appears the competition is wide open.

He has spent most of the preseason playing with the first team defense and he played 24 snaps this past week against the Steelers, but did not appear to play his way into the starting spot. He might even be doing the opposite and playing his way out. Dodson started the game with the first team, but was pulled for AJ Klein after two series and the two rotated by series after that, with Dodson even getting some reps with the third team defense as the game went on.

AJ Klein

A player who has spent most of the last three seasons in Buffalo, AJ Klein seems to have a very real shot at being the opening night starting MLB for the Bills. A player who came in to camp very much on the roster bubble, very well may get the start in week one, and not necessarily due to his own stellar play. Klein could be the “safest” option that Sean McDermott has to throw out there because he is a veteran that should know the defense well. A linebacker who is generally strong in coverage, Klein could have the inside track as of now as he played a couple drives with the first team this past Saturday after taking over for Dodson.

Terrel Bernard

A third-round pick in last years draft out of Baylor, Terrell Bernard has been in the middle of this position battle all off season. If not for a hamstring injury sustained in the last practice of training camp that has kept him out of the preseason thus far, he probably would have seen some snaps with the first team.

Bernard played in all sixteen games last season, making one start and even showed some flashes of that athleticism that led the Bills to draft him. The major question that scouts have had about Bernard is his size, and can he play MLB in the NFL at a high level. Despite this he was having a pretty good camp before the injury, so hopefully he can come back soon and take over the starting job.

Baylon Spector

Spector was a seventh-round pick in last years draft and made the team last year mostly as a special teamer, playing in six games. He seemed to be out of the starting MLB race early on, but with no one really taking over the job it is possible for him to play his way back in. He played 14 snaps against the Steelers and could look to play more this week as the Bills figure out the MLB position.

Spector played mostly weak side in college and was named Second Team all ACC in 2020 while leading the team in sacks.

Dorian Williams

This may be the most interesting horse in this race. Williams, a third-round pick in this year’s draft seemed to be drafted to provide WLB depth behind Matt Milano and possibly move into an interior linebacker role in the future. But, he appears to be playing his way on to the field anywhere he fits in. The Bills had Williams at MLB in spring OTAs, but soon after stated he would be playing mainly on the outside. However due to no one really winning the starting MLB position, Williams could be the answer there.

He played inside linebacker at Tulane last season and was named First Team all AAC, and it is possible that out of necessity the Bills may change their plans for Williams and move him inside, sooner than they might have liked.

DaShaun White

The Bills added White to the roster late Monday night (8/21) as a UDFA out of Oklahoma. White was an All Big 12 Honorable Mention last season and played in the USFL with the Michigan Panthers in the spring. He played both inside and outside linebacker positions at OU and appears to make his best impact on the game in coverage. He will not probably work his way into the starting MLB competition, but could be an intriguing piece on the Practice Squad this season.

The Bills MLB competition is still wide open, and we may not know who the starter will be until the Bills take the field in New Jersey (that’s right, not New York, in New Jersey) on opening night against the Jets.

It is also very possible that they will run a lot of 4-1-6 style defenses with Taylor Rapp playing a hybrid DB/LB position.