Buffalo Bills address linebacker depth in third round with Baylor's Terrel Bernard

sal maiorana, rochester democrat and chronicle

Sat, Apr 30, 2022, 6:33 AM·4 min read

ORCHARD PARK - There were several interior offensive linemen who were sitting there when the Buffalo Bills went on the clock to make their third-round pick.

However, rather than bulk up on the line, Brandon Beane flipped back to the defensive side and took Baylor linebacker Terrell Bernard at No. 89 overall.

Bernard is undersized at 6-foot and 224 pounds, but what he lacks in bulk he makes up for with speed as he ran 4.59 at his pro day.

He used that speed to make 16.5 sacks which ranked third in Baylor history to go along with 317 tackles and three interceptions.

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“I would say first just energetic and 100% effort,” Bernard said when asked to describe his playing style. “I feel like that’s something I pride myself in and something that I’m looking forward to bringing to Buffalo. I feel like I can do multiple things in the run game and then coverage wise as well. So I think combining those and fine-tuning my skills and working with the great staff up there, I’m excited to see what happens.”

Bernard ended his career on a high as he had 10 tackles and 0.5 sacks in the Big 12 Championship game, a 21-16 Baylor victory over Oklahoma State. He then tied a Sugar Bowl record with 20 tackles to go along with a pair of sacks in Baylor’s 21-7 victory over Ole Miss.

That performance enabled him to become the first defensive player to win Sugar Bowl MVP honors since 2008.

Where he’ll play in the Buffalo defense will be determined once the Bills get him on the field, but Beane thinks he may be a player who can back up both inside behind Tremaine Edmunds, and outside behind Matt Milano.

“He’s played both at Baylor,” Beane said. “For us I’ll let the coaches ultimately determine it but he can play both - he can play inside or play out. He’s going to be undersized, he’s not going to be your prototype size. If he’s playing Mike, he’s going to be opposite of what Tremaine looks like inside, but we do think he can do both.”

One of Bernard’s best intangibles is his intelligence. He already graduated with a degree in health, kinesiology and leisure studies in 2020 and he has been working on his masters degree in sports management.

“Super smart, a fun player to watch,” said Beane. “He’ll just come in here and have to compete and we’ll see where his best fit is, but my guess is maybe he bounces around a little bit.”

Baylor linebacker Terrel Bernard (2) celebrates winning the most valuable player at the Sugar Bowl NCAA college football game against Mississippi in New Orleans, Saturday, Jan. 1, 2022. (AP Photo/Matthew Hinton)

Dane Brugler, the draft analyst for The Athletic, had this to say about Bernard:

“He consistently filled up the stat sheet with 8.4 tackles per game over the past three seasons, and both of his head coaches in Waco (Matt Rhule and Dave Aranda) were eager to praise his leadership and integrity.

“Bernard is always involved in plays because of his play speed and inside-out range, showing the ability to unlock and accelerate in any direction. He tends to be too reactive at times and doesn’t have the play strength or heavy hands to quickly dispose of blockers at the point of attack.

“Overall, Bernard is undersized and doesn’t have the anticipation of a playmaker, but he has disciplined eyes and athletic range to cover space, projecting as a fourth linebacker and potential down-the-road NFL starter.”

Two of the next three picks after Buffalo took Bernard were offensive linemen who would have been good fits in Buffalo. Dylan Parham of Memphis went right after Bernard at No. 90 to the Raiders, and Sean Rhyan of UCLA went No. 92 to Green Bay.

With three guards - Rodger Saffold, Cody Ford and Ike Boettger - all on contracts that expire after 2022, it has been a theory that Beane needs to start thinking about the future at guard, but that will have to wait because Bernard was a player Beane really liked and couldn't pass up.

“It was awesome, man,” Bernard said of his pre-draft interactions with the Bills. “From the Senior Bowl all the way to the Combine and Pro Day. Sitting down having conversations with the area scout, my linebacker coach, and then also with coach McDermott and just having the opportunity to talk and present myself and what I can bring to Buffalo. It’s been a crazy experience, and I can’t wait to get to work.”

Sal Maiorana can be reached at maiorana@gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter @salmaiorana.