Jordan Poyer:
All-NFL Team
First-team All-Pro
Poyer has been an eraser in the secondary. When teams have been brave enough to throw in his direction, the result has been a downright depressing passer rating of 3.6. He has five picks and nine passes defensed while allowing 3.1 yards per target and continuing to contribute as a run defender. The Bills rank second in the league in defensive DVOA, and with cornerback Tre'Davious White out for the season, Poyer's partnership with Micah Hyde has kept the team afloat on that side of the ball.
- Bill Barnwell, ESPN
Micah Hyde:
Second-team All-Pro
PFF Top 101 Players
#58. MICAH HYDE
2021 Snaps: 1,146 | 2021 PFF Grade: 83.8
Buffalo fielded arguably the league's best defense this season but overachieved relative to the sum of individual performances of the players. One of the members of the unit who did play up to that No. 1 ranking was safety Micah Hyde, who continued his impressive run of play. Hyde recorded six picks and three pass breakups — including the playoffs — as well as 19 defensive stops and even nine total pressures on the blitz.
PFF 101 Rank, 2020: unranked
- Sam Monson, Pro Football Focus
Josh Allen:
PFF Top 101 Players
#14 JOSH ALLEN
2021 Snaps: 1,219 | 2021 PFF Grade: 91.7
If Allen regressed in 2021, it was very small, as the Bills quarterback was still a phenomenal quarterback. Allen was at his best in the postseason, and his rushing ability sets him apart from other passers. Allen led the league in yards per attempt (6.3) — 3.4 of which came after contact. No quarterback in the league has the full breadth of Allen's skill set, and he has now played to the level of those tools in two consecutive seasons.
PFF 101 Rank, 2020: 13
- Sam Monson, Pro Football Focus
Stefon Diggs:
2022 Pro Bowl Selection
PFF Top 101 Players
#68 STEFON DIGGS
2021 Snaps: 1,016 | 2021 PFF Grade: 82.3
Diggs' production declined in his second season in Buffalo, as he averaged 1.9 yards per route run compared to 2.5 the season before. He saw four fewer targets over the regular season but had 24 fewer catches and was significantly down on yards. He did score two more touchdowns and remains an all-around excellent receiver. Diggs can win in a variety of ways and is a vital part of the Bills' offense.
PFF 101 Rank, 2020: 16
- Sam Monson, Pro Football Focus
First team All-Fits
Dion Dawkins:
2022 Pro Bowl Selection
PFF Top 101 Players
#74 DION DAWKINS
2021 Snaps: 1,156 | 2021 PFF Grade: 83.5
There were a couple of ugly games in his season, but Dawkins had an excellent year overall for the Bills, playing more than 1,000 snaps in the regular season for the fourth straight year. He allowed 28 pressures from almost 800 pass-blocking snaps when including the playoffs and posted the best pass-blocking grade (82.8) of his career.
PFF 101 Rank, 2020: 83
- Sam Monson, Pro Football Focus
Matt Milano:
Second-team All-Pro
… Milano is a stalwart on what might be the league's best defense in Buffalo.
- Bill Barnwell, ESPN
Gabriel Davis:
Buffalo's unsung hero for 2021
I'll make an important note here: I chose Davis before he exploded for four touchdowns in the Divisional Round. Davis' record-setting performance in that game wasn't shocking to anyone who's consistently watched these Bills. The second-year wideout posted nearly identical stats in 2020 and 2021 on a stacked receiving corps that also included Stefon Diggs and Cole Beasley, among others. There's an easy explanation for his production: Davis might be the perfect complement to big-armed quarterback Josh Allen. Including the playoffs, Davis caught 10 touchdown passes of 10-plus air yards this season, finishing second only to Cincinnati's big-play star Ja'Marr Chase. Buffalo's weaponry comprises of much more than just Diggs, and folks are going to get used to hearing Davis' name.
- Nick Shook, NFL.com
Buffalo Bills
No. 1 ranked team in ESPN's FPI
Scroll to view the best game action photos from the 2021 season as chosen by Bills Team Photographers Bill Wippert and Ben Green, and our additional Contributing Photographers Craig Melvin, Jeff Romance, David Le, Brett Carlsen, and Jeffrey T. Barnes.