Each of the Bills' top edge rushers made their way onto the Pro Football Focus Top 101 list. Jerry Hughes debuts at No. 44 - his second appearance on the list in his nine-year career,. Lorenzo Alexander cracked the list at No. 68.
Pro Football Focus wrote the following about Jerry Hughes.
Jerry Hughes has got better with age, as he's coming off by far the best year of his career after nine seasons in the NFL. Hughes recorded 74 total pressures (54 hurries, 12 hits, eight sacks) on 375 pass-rush snaps, giving him the best pass-rush productivity rating (10.9) among all qualifying edge defenders in the NFL.
Hughes anchored a defensive line that produced 36 sacks and a defense that forced the second most forced fumbles in the league with 24. Buffalo also had the eighth most takeaways with 27 this season.
Pro Football Focus wrote the following about Lorenzo Alexander
The 14th-year edge defender produced the highest-graded season of his career in 2018 and was a force as a pass-rusher, where he produced 38 total pressures from his 238 pass-rushing snaps for a pressure percentage of 16.9% – the fifth-highest rate among edge defenders with at least 100 pass-rushing snaps.
The two veterans were critical to the Bills' No. 2 ranked defense by yards allowed per game. Hughes and Alexander were utilized in creative packages throughout the season. They took 66 percent and 62 percent of defensive snaps, respectively. The only players to take more snaps on defense/special teams this year were Jordan Poyer, Tre'Davious White, Tremaine Edmunds, Micah Hyde and Matt Milano.
