By Cullen Tonge
With training camp just a couple of weeks away, Buffalo Bills fans around the world are gearing up for another season of high-flying Bills football. I am sure we can all agree that the years of absolutely sucking are behind us and we all have one common goal in mind: a Super Bowl.
Can you imagine what would remain of the city and surrounding suburbs if we saw Josh Allen parading down Abbott Road in shorts in the middle of February hoisting the Lombardi Trophy for all of us to see? And then when they finally reach One Bills Drive, catching a Labatt Blue from a fan and shotgunning it? I don’t know about you, but that would be the best moment of my life. Until the next morning when I wake up and don’t remember a thing.
We have about seven months until that dream hopefully becomes a reality and our beloved Bills become Super Bowl Champions. For now, I thought I would give out my predictions for team awards. I gave these out both in the middle of last season and then the end. I am very excited to see what this team can do, especially the individual players we adore.
Offensive MVP – Stefon Diggs
Just like the end of last season, Diggs is the clear-cut winner of this preseason award. I expect the entire Bills offense to be firing on all cylinders this upcoming season, but it is very hard to imagine someone having a better season than Diggs. He led the league in yards last year and I am anticipating another season where he is near the top if not in the number one spot again. We’ve seen the work that he’s put in, specifically in route running (shoutout to the cameraman filming those videos).
His tenacity and will to be the best will once again show this season and with an extra game added to the schedule, Diggs will set the league on fire with his stats. I can’t wait to get to a game this year and just see how much better he is than anyone tasked with guarding him.
Defensive MVP – Tremaine Edmunds
I gave this award to Taron Johnson and when I handed out the midseason awards. At the end of last year, Jordan Poyer was the winner. Johnson had some amazing plays for the defense and Poyer was the most consistent throughout the season. Don’t get me wrong, I fully expect both of them to be solid parts of the defense like they have been in the past.
However, the 23-year-old linebacker out of Virginia Tech is entering his fourth season and already has been selected to two Pro Bowls. He is an absolute stud that can track down backs and make plays in coverage that not many linebackers can do. His intelligence is through the roof and when you pair that with his freak athletic ability, you end up with the Defensive MVP of this football team. I don’t understand where the scrutiny comes from with some Bills fans when they talk about Edmunds.
He is averaging over 118 tackles per season and I do not expect that to drop any time soon. The team picked up his player option which means this season could be huge for him in terms of how much money he gets when he wants to resign. Not only do I think Edmunds is the Bills’ Defensive MVP. I think he might just have a chance to be a sleeper pick for the league’s Defensive Player of the Year Award.
Rookie Of The Year/Best Newcomer – Emmanuel Sanders
This came down to three players for me: Greg Rousseau, Boogie Basham Jr., and Emmanuel Sanders. I am not entirely sure how much the defensive ends that the Bills took with their first two picks are going to see the field, so it is hard for me to judge just how much of an impact they are going to have. Sanders, on the other hand, is a savvy vet who is coming into this offense and is going to flourish. Losing John Brown, but gaining Sanders this offseason was an amazing move by the team.
The thing with Sanders is that he doesn’t have to be the number one, two, or even third target on Josh Allen’s reads. The Bills are going to play a lot of four-wide sets. Obviously, Diggs will be out there along with Cole Beasley. Sanders and Gabriel Davis aren’t going to have to fight to be that third guy because both will get their share of targets. Sanders is going to be a big-time addition for the Bills and I am excited to see this receiving group go to work as they humiliate opposing defenses.
Most Improved – A.J. Epenesa
As I mentioned before, the depth of this defensive line is incredible. We know that Head Coach Sean McDermott and Defensive Coordinator Leslie Frazier like to run a heavy rotation, so when the players are on the field, they have to make the most of it to see time in the rotation. A.J. Epenesa didn’t play to the level that most people expected him to last season as a rookie, but luckily for him and the team, he didn’t necessarily have to.
This season, however, he needs to solidify himself as a clear-cut starter because he is going to be the guy once Jerry Hughes leaves. We have already seen the fight in Epenesa with his pick-six at OTAs, so it is quite clear that he knows what he needs to do to earn his time. I don’t know if he is going to rack up the numbers in sacks or even tackles for that matter, but it would be great to see him getting after the quarterback and being where he needs to be on every play.
Hughes doesn’t get a ton of sacks, but he is a great defensive end because he knows how to contain and how to get after the quarterback. Sacks aren’t the end-all-be-all of the defensive end position. Yes, they are great and Epenesa certainly has the potential to get them, but if he can be the edge-rusher we used a second-round pick on, he will be the most improved player on this team.
Team MVP – Josh Allen
It’s so hard to imagine anyone besides Josh Allen taking home this award at the end of the season. His jump from year two to year three was unlike anything we have ever seen. I expect him to take a jump even more forward this year. Allen’s determination to win, paired with his elite arm strength and athleticism made him the runner-up in league MVP voting last season. I predict we’ll see him up there again at the end of this season.
A lot of people think he may have a slight regression, which would be perfectly okay with me if the team is winning football games. However, I see him taking a slight step forward. An added game means another opportunity to learn and grow. Keeping Brian Daboll was possibly the best move the Bills made this offseason and because of that, Allen is only going to get better. He is the fan-favorite for a reason. Yes, he looks good in shorts and is a man of the people, but he is also the best player on the Bills and one of the best in the NFL.
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