Tremaine Edmunds’ Youth Gives Him Huge IDP Dynasty Potential
It’s not often we get to talk about 22-year-olds entering their third season in the NFL, but such is the case for Bills linebacker Tremaine Edmunds. Drafted into the NFL when he was 19 years old and finishing his rookie season at the age of 20, Edmunds has offered plenty of excitement and is immensely talented for someone of his youth.
In his first two seasons in the league, Edmunds has been everything Sean McDermott and company have hoped for out of a first-round pick, becoming one of the core foundations of one of the league’s nastiest defenses with a ceiling that hasn’t even been hit yet, far from it. It should come to no surprise that his sophomoric season was a success from both a statistical and film perspective. Selected to the first Pro Bowl of his career, Edmunds contributed with 66 solo tackles, 1.5 sacks, 4 QB hits, 10 tackles for loss, and nine pass disruptions on the year.
Edmunds’ FantasyData points were just 30th among all linebackers (124.15), but he still put up good numbers, was outstanding in coverage (only allowing a 76.3 passer rating), and put up big play after big play for the Bills defense. Did I mention he’s 6’5 yet his movement doesn’t feel lanky in the slightest? Yeah, I’d say he’s a pretty fascinating athlete in that sense, wouldn’t you?
Under the recently extended McDermott, Edmunds is set under a great environment for a while. The best part is it’ll be an eternity before he reaches the age of 30, so he has plenty of time to become a household name in IDP leagues. And judging by his early output, he’s not far from that goal.
At 6’5 and in the vicinity of 250 lbs, one might expect Edmunds to be too scrawny and overbuilt to play linebacker, but thankfully he’s found a way. He’s able to move quicker than you’d expect, and matches that with well-disguised quarterback spies such as this dropped interception against Eli Manning.
The Giants call for a quick slant route to Russell Shepard on this late third and ten, and Edmunds plays it perfectly; He fools Manning into expecting softer, prevent coverage, giving off the mirage that he’s got an easy completion in front of him to Shepard. But the linebacker launches synchronized with Manning’s release, jumping in front of the skinny slant and foiling the throw. The only thing missing was the cherry on top, the cherry being the fruitful pick-six that slipped away from Edmunds’ grasp.
Outside of that blemish, this was one of his more impressive plays on the year and a perfect example of how far his coverage skills have come.
This play is also impressive for different reasons. Those who have studied Tom Brady’s tape have noticed he loves getting rid of the ball almost immediately, and as such his sensational anticipation creates more room for yards after the catch for his receivers. I can say with the utmost certainty that while guarding Brady’s quick release isn’t Dark Souls levels of difficulty, it is far from being a cakewalk.
That’s why Edmunds’ effort here is commendable. The play fake off the three-step drop combined with a quick slant can be impossible to defend, and not only does he have to spot it just like that, but he also has to dash to that area as quickly as he can. That Edmunds is able to read Brady’s eyes and break up another quick slant makes this look remarkably easier than it actually is.
It’s time for one of my favorite moments in football; A big-bodied defender going up against a big-bodied receiver. Mike Gesicki polished his game in his second season of play, and like Edmunds, he has yet to reach his potential as a pro. On this desperate fourth and long, Edmunds does well to move in sync with Gesicki and allow very little room for separation, but that’s just part of the equation to this test of might.
The other part of this is stopping Gesicki, a freak at the catch point, from hauling in the back shoulder jump ball. This is where Edmunds’ timing comes in; He allows Gesicki’s mitts to grasp the pass, then attacks and rips the ball away just before the convoluted process of completing the catch can be executed. A turnover on downs is the result of this play – a big one from the young prodigy.
Edmunds’ timing is also a factor as a run-stuffer. On this wildcat formation, Edmunds uses an absurd amount of patience to wait for blockers to swarm in front of him and leave creases for him to travel in between. His patience pays off, as he’s able to assist in bringing running back Jaylen Samuels down to the gallows of the Heinz Field turf.
Edmunds makes a great duo along with fellow linebacker Matt Milano, one of the more underrated players at the position. The two form one of the absolute best linebacker duos in all of football, even with the lack of attention the two have received in comparison to other LB pairs. That shouldn’t change in 2020 (with a season still in play, of course).
Anyway, Tremaine Edmunds is easily one of the best young linebackers in the league, and that’s saying something because he’s 22 years of age in year three! Even with linebackers being a dime a dozen in IDP leagues, I still recommend taking him with a mid-IDP pick, perhaps in the tenth or 11th rounds.
Edmunds is still a little raw, but that’s to be expected with someone in his shoes. And that only makes him even more exciting in the realization that he can and should improve upon his game, which is already at the Pro Bowl level of quality. His superb coverage skills can only get better under the wise eyes of McDermott and the defensive staff the Bills have employed, so if you’re looking for great, young dynasty value in the linebacking department, Edmunds is a pretty safe bet.
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