23-year old rookie CB/S Jairus Byrd has been outstanding for the Bills so far this season.  With a rash of injuries to the secondary the Bills needed someone to step up and Byrd has been that guy.  He has played in 7 games for the Bills this season and he has 27 tackles, he has defensed 7 passes and he has 5 interceptions (91 return yards) so far this year.  Byrd was a second round pick this season by the Bills out of Oregon and he might not return to the bench even when the backs ahead of him get healthy.  This looks like an excellent pick for the Bills last April.

Fred Jackson is the leading rusher (415 yards) and he has caught the most passes (20) on the Bills this season.  He has a combined 592 yards rushing (415) and receiving (177) this season for an average of 98.7 yards per game.  But with Marshawn Lynch back from his suspension the Bills were looking for other ways to get Jackson the ball.  He has not supplanted Roscoe Parrish as both the kickoff and punt returner for the time being.  Parrish fumbled away his starting job.  While Jackson doesn’t have the homerun ability of Parrish on returns he is dependable at catching the football.   He has returned 5 kickoffs for 90 yards (18.0 avg) and 1 punt for 27 yards so far this season.  Jackson is turning himself into one of the best players on the Bills this season and the team is smart for finding new ways to get him the football.

Veteran linebacker Keith Ellison is leading the way for the Bills on defense with 27 tackles and 1 tackle for a loss.  The Bills are only allowing 65 yards rushing per game and Ellison is a big reason for that.  The bigger reason however is the fact that the opposition is throwing for 332.0 yards per game.  Still, Ellison has been a big plus for the Bills’ D this season.

When the Bills found out that Marshawn Lynch was suspended by the league they knew that they needed someone to step up.  That guy has been Fred Jackson.  Jackson has carried the ball 43 times for 220 yards (5.1 ypc) and he has also caught 11 passes for 108 yards (9.8 avg) with 1 TD grab.  The Bills will have to find enough room for both Lynch and Jackson to get their touches as Jackson has earned a bigger role on the offense.  This really helps the Bills who are already averaging 154.0 yards rushing per game this year.

Trent Edwards has been outstanding this season for the Bills.  The Bills are averaging 357.0 yards on offense and 28.5 points per game so far this season.  Edwards has completed 36 of 56 passes (64.3%) for 442 yards with 4 TD passes and 1 interception (104.9 QB Rating).  He also has carried the ball 5 times for 49 yards (9.8 ypc) this season.  The Bills need to tell Edwards not to run too much because he is the one player on the offense that they can’t afford to lose.