Bills Rookie LB Dorian Williams Praised by Coach: 'Tremendous!'

The Buffalo Bills took Dorian Williams in the third round with the No. 91 pick in the 2023 NFL Draft.

The Buffalo Bills have holes to address with the loss of middle linebacker Tremaine Edmunds in free agency.

In his five years with Buffalo, Edmunds had over 100 tackles each season and was a two-time Pro Bowler (2019, 2020). Edmunds signed a four-year $72 million contract with the Chicago Bears this offseason. 

With Edmunds out of the fold, one player expected to play an important role is rookie linebacker Dorian Williams, who Buffalo took with the No. 91 overall pick in the 2023 NFL Draft. Though the Tulane Green Wave product is just beginning his career and will likely play outside linebacker instead of filling Edmunds' inside spot, Bills linebacker coach Bobby Babich is pleased with what he's seen from the rookie. 

"He's made tremendous strides," Babich said. "What I talked about in the spring was obviously, his physical tools are there, it's how we can get him to play the fastest he can possibly play to affect the game in a positive way."

Williams' final season with the Green Wave was the best of his collegiate career. The versatile linebacker had a career-high 132 tackles, 8.5 of which were for a loss. He also had five sacks, two interceptions, seven passes defended and two forced fumbles, all of which were all career-bests. The 6-2, 230-pound linebacker's play earned him 1st-Team All-American Athletic Conference honors.

While Williams' physical ability was on full display in his senior season, his ability to learn and understand what Babich taught him in a pre-draft meeting put him squarely on the team's radar. 

"I wanted to see his mental processes," Babich said. "His ability to follow instructions and drills, his ability to get on the board, and me to put him to the fire on teaching defenses for the Bills that he's never heard before in his life and erase everything and make him teach it to me. ... He showed a mental capacity."

Expecting Williams to immediately replace the kind of production of Edmunds is far-fetched. But if his growth since he was drafted is any indication, Buffalo may have found itself another good linebacker for the present and future.

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