The Buffalo Bills have their superstars… but that’s a double-edged sword. Others fly under-the-radar because of the likes of Josh Allen, Stefon Diggs, Von Miller, and so on.
With that, here are the six most underrated Bills players heading into 2023:
CB Dane Jackson
As a former first-round pick, Kaiir Elam is going to get every chance to start across from Tre’Davious White in 2023. He’ll have to earn that in a training camp battle with Dane Jackson and it won’t be an easy task.
While Jackson’s coverage grade from Pro Football Focus was an average of 59.9 overall last season, he’s still talented, and more importantly, experienced. Jackson has appeared in 37 career games, with 22 starts, notching three interceptions and 23 passes defended along the way.
Most in Buffalo would consider Taron Johnson a good defender. He’s even better than that.
Few slot defenders in the NFL have as much responsibility on their shoulders as Johnson and he’s never missed a beat. PFF graded him a 68.3 overall and 74.7 coverage grade in 2022… both of which are above average.
Johnson plays almost every snap and rarely misses playing time. He’s underrated, even in western New York.
DE Greg Rousseau
Because of all the focus on future Hall of Famer Von Miller and recent free-agent addition Leonard Floyd, you might forget about Rousseau. Don’t.
Before the Bills even added Floyd, Rousseau was ranked the 29th best edge defender in the NFL by PFF. On that same list, Floyd does not appear (Miller is 10th).
While the short term looks bright at defensive end, Rousseau finally appears to be a player Buffalo’s front office hit on after missing on a few pass rushers via the draft. In his first two seasons, Rousseau has notched 12 sacks for the Bills, including eight last season.
Ford isn’t an unknown, but he doesn’t jump off the roster at you. His signing was welcomed but no one jumped for joy. Partly that’s due to his position as a defensive tackle, most of those players don’t do that unless you’re Aaron Donald.
But the undersized interior defender earned his first sub-73.0 PFF grade last season (56.2) in his entire career. On top of that, the Seattle Seahawks admitted it was their fault that happened because they were playing Ford out of position.
Ford could be a very positive addition for the Bills.
Former second-round pick by the Bills, James Cook, will have the first look at being Buffalo’s No. 1 running back in 2023. Damien Harris might make doing so difficult for him.
Harris was named the Bills’ best running back by PFF. The only reason he ended up as a free agent was because of his injury issues with the New England Patriots.
Whether it’s Harris eventually being the top back or a split backfield with Cook, Harris could turn out to be a piece for the Bills offense. He will have plenty of motivation after signing a one-year “prove-it” deal.
Sherfield who? A 30-catch player last season with the Miami Dolphins, a career-high, Sherfield comes to Buffalo as an unknown.
Keep him in mind according to some of his former teammates. He has been loved by them in the past, included in that group is Dolphins receiver Tyreek Hill.
Story originally appeared on Bills Wire