Buffalo Bills Still Weak at Strong-Side Linebacker

Paul Posluszny, Kawika Mitchell, and Keith Ellison.

What is wrong with this trio and I will give you one guess. That's right it is that Keith Ellison is still the starting strong-side linebacker for the Buffalo Bills. The undersized Ellison hasn't shown any ability to successfully be a NFL linebacker over the past two seasons when he got the opportunity to start a total of 23 games.

This is one position the Bills failed to upgrade during free agency and the NFL Draft. The only attempt to add some competition for the position was drafting Oklahoma safety Nic Harris who is going to transition to linebacker.

He was a big play safety for the Sooners and has the size to make the move to linebacker. The only problem is that he most likely wont be ready to start on opening day.

The Bills still failed to add a veteran linebacker during the off season which could end up hurting them down the road. With linebackers such as Cato June, Derrick Brooks, and Mike Peterson, who is being moved to the outside in Atlanta, were all available this offseason. All three of these guys could have come in and been an upgrade over Ellison.

With a division full of big powerful running backs such as Thomas Jones, Laurence Maroney, and Ronnie Brown all three must be marking their calenders to when they play the Bills.

The one dark horse that could come in and soldify the position for the Bills is second year man Alvin Bowen. Coming off a serious knee injury in which he missed the entire season last year and has a lot to prove during training camp.

If the Bills dont add a veteran outside linebacker as training camp approaches then my pick is for Alvin Bowen to be the starting strong-side backer to open the season. If Harris is ready to play then I see no reason to keep Ellison on the roster.

By improving this position not only will the run defense be better, but the pass rush could improve as well. Harris could be ready to step in on passing situations and either rush the passer or drop into coverage.

The only other area where the Bills might need some help is the offensive line, but with the additions through the draft there is now a lot of depth. Adding a veteran tackle like John Runyan could significantly improve the line.

Overall the Bills have done a good job in the offseason addressing some of their biggest needs. Only time will tell how everything works out.