A role player on the Bills might not be viewed as valuable elsewhere but he is a real luxury in Buffalo

The Buffalo Bills have multiple players who will be vital to their success in 2025. Some high profile names like Josh Allen, James Cook, Joey Bosa, and Ed Oliver.

ESPN's Bill Barnwell also thinks the Bills have an under-the-radar contributor who is one of the biggest luxury players in the NFL.

Bills' Alec Anderson named one of the best luxury players in the NFL 

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"Some teams bring extra offensive linemen onto the field in short-yardage and goal-line situations, hoping to use the added bulk to generate more movement at the line of scrimmage. Over the past couple of years, though, the Bills have used the sixth offensive lineman tactic as something close to a core offensive concept.

 

Offensive coordinator Joe Brady utilized six linemen 93 times on first-and-10 last season, more than twice as often as any other offense. The league's other 31 teams did that an average of just over 10 times on first-and-10 in 2024. And while the Bills went with six linemen to help their run game, the extra lineman also forced teams into the same bind we've seen defenses struggle with against multi-TE groupings. Play nickel and dime sub packages versus a six-lineman set and the Bills will run it. Play base defense and the Bills were happy to throw; Josh Allen averaged 9.4 yards per attempt out of those six-lineman groupings last season, up nearly two full yards from his mark with five linemen on the field (7.6).

All of those personnel grouping mismatches look great on paper, but offenses need the personnel to actually pull them off. While the Bills used David Edwards in this role before he moved into the starting lineup in 2024, Anderson has taken it to another level. The 305-pound tackle spent two years on the Buffalo practice squad before making his debut last season. Brady carved out a regular role for Anderson immediately, as he averaged 14 snaps per game, excluding the Week 18 game in which the Bills played their backups against the Pats.

Anderson has been a sound run blocker, but he has excelled protecting Allen on the edge. Amid his 79 pass-blocking snaps, the 25-year-old allowed just one quarterback pressure and zero sacks, per NFL Next Gen Stats. Being able to rely on Anderson as a solid pass blocker allows the Bills to take shots downfieldout of those jumbo packages, which then scares defenses into protecting against the deep passing attack and creates softer boxes for Allen and James Cook in the run game."

- ESPN's Bill Barnwell