Two former Bills named to PFF quarter-century team

Although their primes weren't in Buffalo, these two defenders have been some of the best players this century

The Bills' Von Miller rushes around the end against the Packers. | JAMIE GERMANO/ROCHESTER DEMOCRAT AND CHRONICLE / USA TODAY NETWORK

PFF's Jonathon Macri used player grades to comprise a starting lineup of players from the past 25 years to create a quarter-century team. The star-studded cast saw two former Buffalo Bills named to starting roles, edge rusher Von Miller and cornerback Antoine Winfield Sr.

With a 95.1 career PFF grade, Miller has the second-highest grade of any defensive lineman in the starting lineup, behind only Aaron Donald's 97.2.

Macri writes, "The honor of the most career sacks (139) in the PFF era also happens to belong to the highest-graded edge defender of all time. Miller's career spans 14 seasons, exactly 10,000 defensive snaps, and is still going."

Jan 26, 2025; Kansas City, MO, USA; Detailed view of the jersey of Buffalo Bills linebacker Von Miller (40) against the Kansas City Chiefs during the AFC Championship game at GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images | Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images

"He owns nine seasons with at least a 90.0 PFF overall grade - by far the most at the position, as the next closest player (Khalil Mack) has six. Miller joins Nick Bosa as the only edge defender to rank in the top five in career pressure rate (16.5%), career pass-rush win rate (16.7%) and career PFF pass-rush grade (93.9)."

Winfield is sandwiched in between Richard Sherman and Darrelle Revis, with a 94.5 career PFF grade. Although his time in Buffalo (1999-2003) was before the 'PFF era', his four seasons that qualify towards the quarter-century team include 56 starts, 295 total tackles, 37 passes defended, four interceptions, and 28 tackles for loss. The other nine years of his career were spent with the Minnesota Vikings, where he earned three Pro Bowl nods and a second-team All Pro selection.

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"Winfield's NFL career began in 1999, though even his seven remaining seasons in the PFF era yielded one of the best career marks of all time. He was among the 10 highest-graded players for his position in five out of seven years, and the top-graded player at his position three times between 2006 and when he retired in 2012."

"While Winfield owns a top-10 PFF coverage grade all time (92.3), where he's unique on this list of cornerbacks is that he also owns the best PFF run-defense grade (94.7) out of 355 qualifiers at the position since 2006. Winfield's 107 run defense stops are tied for the second most of all time among cornerbacks, while his 2.47-yard average depth of tackle against the run ranks as the best mark among 137 qualifiers since 2006," explains Macri.

In addition to Miller and Winfield, former Bills running back Marshawn Lynch was listed as the honorable mention for the position, unable to take the starting spot from Derrick Henry.

Oct 31, 1999; Baltimore, MD, USA; FILE PHOTO; Baltimore Ravens receiver Jermaine Lewis (84) in action against Buffalo Bills defensive back Antoine Winfield (26) | Lou Capozzola-Imagn Images

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