Top 50 Buffalo Bills
Say what you want about the Buffalo Bills in the early 1990s.At the end of the day, there was only one professional football team that went to the Super Bowl four years in a row, and while they did not win any of them or any Super Bowls for that matter, the accomplishment of getting there four times consecutively should be celebrated.
The history of the Buffalo Bills dates back to 1960, where they were charter members of the American Football League and were part of the AFL/NFL merger. This list will include AFL accomplishments, and it is forgotten that the Bills were two-time AFL Champions (1964 and 1965).
This list is up to the end of the 2024 regular season.
Note: Football lists are based on an amalgamation of tenure, traditional statistics, advanced statistics, playoff statistics and post-season accolades.
Joe Devlin spent all thirteen of his NFL seasons on the offensive line for the Buffalo Bills, predominantly at the Right Tackle position. Devlin was not a Pro Bowler, but was stable, especially at a time when the Bills did not have much of it. Notably, his 191 Games is the fourth most in franchise history.
Drafted in the 14th round of the 1959 NFL Draft by the Cleveland Browns out of Bluffton College, Elbert Dubenion instead signed with the upstart Buffalo Bills for their inaugural 1960 season. Nicknamed "Golden Wheels" for his track-level speed, Dubenion became an original AFL star and the franchise's first elite vertical threat. Dubenion was a flanker built for vertical acceleration…
Ben Williams came to Buffalo as a historic figure. As the first Black student-athlete to play varsity football at Ole Miss—earning the affectionate nickname "Gentle Ben" off the field—Williams (3rd round, 78th overall in 1876) translated his collegiate dominance directly into a ten-year career as an anchor on the Bills' defensive front. Williams possessed a physical, leveraged style of play…
Following a high-profile offseason blockbuster trade in March 2015 that sent him from Philadelphia to Buffalo, LeSean "Shady" McCoy stepped into the Bills' backfield as an immediate franchise cornerstone. Bringing elite open-field agility to Western New York, McCoy anchored Buffalo’s ground game across four seasons. McCoy used exceptional lateral agility, quick jump-cuts, and deceptive stop-and-start acceleration. As a versatile dual-threat…
Signed by the Buffalo Bills in 1995 after five productive seasons in Green Bay, Bryce Paup arrived in Western New York as one of the most transformative free-agent additions in franchise history. Stepping onto Wade Phillips' defense opposite Hall of Fame defensive end Bruce Smith, Paup provided an unstoppable pass-rushing dynamic that ignited Buffalo's front seven. Paup showcased a great…
Charles Romes arrived in Buffalo as a late-round flyer (12th round, 309th overall in 1977) and distinguished himself as the first French-born player in NFL history. Stepping into the secondary as a rookie, Romes developed into an iron-man starter at right cornerback, holding down the position across a decade of service. Romes possessed a typical length for a perimeter cornerback…
With the fifth-round (163rd overall) pick in the 2017 NFL Draft, the Buffalo Bills selected Matt Milano, who entered the league as a converted safety and stepped directly into Sean McDermott’s defensive system. Over nine seasons in Buffalo, Milano evolved into the vital, sideline-to-sideline core of the Bills' linebacker corps. Milano relied on DB-caliber movement skills, processing speed, and closing…
Drafted 27th overall in the first round of the 2017 NFL Draft out of LSU, Tre'Davious White became a cornerstone for general manager Brandon Beane and head coach Sean McDermott's defensive culture change. Quickly stepping onto the boundary as the secondary's premier shutdown option, White grew into one of the most complete cornerbacks in the NFL. White combined disciplined footwork,…
Unsigned out of Division III Coe College in 2003, Fred Jackson took the hardest possible road to the NFL, starring in indoor football and grinding through NFL Europe with the Rhein Fire before finally catching on with the Buffalo Bills' practice squad. Making his NFL debut as a 26-year-old rookie in 2007, Jackson defied conventional career arcs to become one…
With the 13th overall pick in the first round of the 2004 NFL Draft, the Bills targeted Lee Evans out of Wisconsin with the hope of him becoming an explosive, pure deep threat. Operating as the primary perimeter target for a carousel of starting quarterbacks across seven seasons in Buffalo, Evans specialized in blowing past single-coverage and tracking deep passes…
Taken 27th overall in the first round of the 1992 NFL Draft out of Arizona, John Fina became the long-term successor at left tackle for Marv Levy’s championship-caliber offense. Taking over as the full-time protector of Jim Kelly’s blindside in his second season, Fina spent a decade serving as an anchor along Buffalo’s offensive line. Fina demonstrated integrated leverage, swift…
In 2002, Mario Williams was the first overall pick in the draft, and he played his first four seasons in football with the team that drafted him, the Houston Texans. Mario Williams signed a massive free-agent contract with the Buffalo Bills in March 2012. Landing in Western New York as the cornerstone of the defense, Williams immediately validated the record-breaking…
