Buffalo Bills: Tremaine Edmunds Called Next Brian Urlacher

Brian Urlacher is enjoying his 40th birthday and preparations for the Hall of Fame. So what does he have to do with the Buffalo Bills franchise?

It’s best to clarify this situation first. With Urlacher heading to Canton, the conversation around the league this offseason has pondered the question:  is there an Urlacher in the NFL right now? Most would agree the answer is no. There isn’t a defensive player with his mixture of size, athleticism, and mental acuity at middle linebacker for any of the defenses. It’s a testament to just how rare a specimen he was.

That might be changing though. The inside linebacker crop of this recent 2018 draft was among the most impressive in years, at least in terms of physical dimensions. Could any of them be the next Urlacher? This is a topic that was tackled by former scouts Daniel Jeremiah and Bucky Brooks during their podcast on NFL.com. Jeremiah tasked Brooks with answering that question, and his selection turned out to be new Bills 1st round pick Tremaine Edmunds.

Edmunds has the freakish talent to be a dynamo in the middle

Brooks cited a few factors for his decision. Chief among them were the similar physical dimensions and athletic ability. Also in play is the defensive system he’ll be in, one that’s an offshoot of the same scheme that made Urlacher a first-ballot Hall of Famer in Chicago.

"“The guy that I’m going to go with? How about Tremaine Edmunds coming from Virginia Tech? When you looked at him on tape, you see him play on the edge but it’s the length, the athleticism, the explosiveness, and the overall versatility that he displays on tape that leads me to believe he can be a Brian Urlacher type player.And when I think about the Buffalo Bills defense and what Sean McDermott wants to do, they want to use him in a similar fashion, I believe. I believe he can be a guy that can run down the deep middle, that can run with tight ends if he’s asked to do that. He has the size to really make it difficult for quarterbacks to work the middle of the field because of his length and athleticism.”"

There’s nothing to argue in his logic.

Edmunds is indeed that talented. His ability to move and run at his size can sometimes defy the laws of physics and biology. Those won’t be the big question marks with him. It all comes down to what’s between the ears. People talk about Urlacher’s physical prowess, but what made him great was his intelligence and processing speed. Quarterbacks hated going against him because he was so adept at figuring out and countering what they wanted to do.

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If Edmunds wants to reach that same level, he’ll have to hit the playbook and the film room religiously from now on. That’s how all the greats do it.