In battle at middle linebacker, Tyrel Dodson may have the edge over Terrell Bernard
The Buffalo Bills knew when Tremaine Edmunds bolted to the Chicago Bears in free agency that they were not going to be able to find a replacement who could match his unique physical stature and athletic ability.
How could they? There simply aren’t many middle linebackers who stand 6-foot-5, weigh 250 pounds, and can move sideline to sideline the way Edmunds can.
Instead, as the St. John Fisher University portion of training camp heads into its final few days, what the Bills are looking for as the determining factor in the competition - mainly now between Tyrel Dodson and Terrell Bernard - is not size or speed or a combination of both, it’s which player makes the most plays.
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It’s really as simple as that. Size, speed and athleticism are important, but when you get right down to it, you have to make the play when it’s there to be made. That’s the job, and the Bills think both Dodson and Bernard can be that player.
“It’s not what they look like, it’s the right player at that position,” linebackers coach Bobby Babich said Sunday. “There’s a mix right now that we feel you need (to play MLB in the NFL) where you have to be athletic enough and you have to be physical enough and I think we have the right guys to do it.”
Babich acknowledged that replacing Edmunds is a tall task, not only because of his ability but the fact that he was in that spot for five years running the Bills’ defense.
“You have a player that manned a position for five years and I don’t care what position it is, there was a lot of reps that we need to build to get to the level we need to and the guys are doing everything they’re supposed to do to get to that level,” Babich said.
What would be nice is if the Bills could somehow meld Dodson and Bernard into one player. Dodson has a little more size at 237 pounds and will probably hold up better against the run while the 222-pound Bernard has a little more speed that will help him in pass coverage.
Tyrel Dodson looks to be frontrunner for Buffalo Bills at linebacker
One thing we know they most likely won’t do is rotate at that position to match up skill sets depending on down and distance. The middle linebacker has the green communication dot on his helmet and is the man who essentially is quarterbacking the defense. This is one man’s job to win, and right now, it seems as if Dodson is the frontrunner after he had a strong showing in the practice at Highmark Stadium Friday night and was back with the first-string defense Sunday.
“I’m just coming out here doing my job every single day, communicating and executing the defense at a high level,” said the 25-year-old Dodson, who made five starts in games Edmunds missed since 2020, three coming last year. “I think that’s what I bring to the table.”
Dodson joined the team as an undrafted free agent but got popped for violating the NFL’s personal conduct policy and was suspended six games. He spent the rest of 2019 on the practice squad, then signed a futures contract before 2020. This past offseason he was given a new one-year, $2 million deal so this is a big season for him to prove he can be a full-time NFL starter.
“Yeah, having experience and just knowing when to check and when not to check in certain formations,” Dodson said of his time on task in Sean McDermott’s defense, something Bernard has only one season’s worth. “I think my experience when Tremaine was here was a good experience, but I’m ready to get more and more out of that.”
Bernard was picked in the third round of the 2022 NFL Draft so the Bills have a little more invested in him. He was mostly a special teams player as a rookie, but in his second season, a third-round pick needs to start contributing at a higher level, so it’s a big year for him, too.
“I feel like going into my second year, just the knowledge of the playbook and knowledge of the NFL and how the system works,” Bernard said. “I feel a lot more confident going into it.”
Edmunds had the wingspan of a condor and without him patrolling the middle, the passing lanes will theoretically be a little bigger against the Buffalo defense. The only way Dodson or Bernard can close that gap is to be in the right place at the right time.
“I mean, you can’t really make up for him being 6-5 and being able to run like that,” Bernard said with a smile. “But I think what you can do is put the time in the playbook and film study and try to be a step ahead of the offense on what they’re going to do. Put yourself in the best position to make plays.”
Regardless of who wins the job, Babich feels good about the competition because it is making both players better.
“I always talk about, we’re doing one of two things - we’re either growing or we’re dying, we’re never staying the same,” he said. “It’s okay to die a little bit when it comes to your game, that’s okay, as long as the next day you build on it and there’s growth. It’s a true competition and everybody is putting their best foot forward.”
Sal Maiorana can be reached at maiorana@gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter @salmaiorana and on Threads @salmaiorana1. To subscribe to Sal's newsletter, Bills Blast, which will come out every Friday during training camp, please follow this link: https://profile.democratandchronicle.com/newsletters/bills-blast
This article originally appeared on Rochester Democrat and Chronicle: Buffalo Bills news from training camp: Tyrel Dodson may have edge
