Bills linebacker Tremaine Edmunds was selected in the first round of the 2018 draft with the hope that he’d be a productive playmaker in the middle of the defense and there have been some good returns on that front.
Edmunds was voted into the Pro Bowl for his work in the 2020 season after being added as a replacement in 2019 and he’s posed 355 tackles, 19 tackles for loss, 5.5 sacks, three interceptions, and two forced fumbles while starting 46 games in his first three seasons. Edmunds added 37 tackles, a sack, and a fumble recovery in the postseason.
Many would give that performance a high grade, but Edmunds said on NFL Network Wednesday that he’d give himself a harsher mark.
“I’m a tough grader,” Edmunds said. “I feel like I still got a lot more room to grow, to be honest with you. I’ve done some really good things, but at the same time I know what I can do, I know my talents. I know just pretty much how far I can take this linebacker position, as far as where I want to see myself the next couple years. As far as letter grade, like I said, I’m tough, so I’d say probably about a B-minus. That’s give or take. Just because I know what I could do and I know where I could be at.”
The Bills have their first chance to sign Edmunds to a long-term deal this offseason, although their first priority may be to lock up fellow 2018 first-rounder Josh Allen. Edmunds’ 2020 Pro Bowl selection means it will cost $12.716 million to pick up his fifth-year option for the 2022 season and it will cost even more to lock him up for years if Edmunds lifts his grade in 2021.