It wasn't the size of the task of playing middle linebacker or the difficulty of organizing the defense week after week while still trying to let his vast physical skill set shine that concerned him. It was the fear of letting his teammates down.

"That's what you want. That's the sign of a leader," said Lorenzo Alexander, one of Edmunds' biggest confidantes in Buffalo's locker room. "He wants to play so well that he puts guys on his back and leads us to victory. Being a young guy and a high draft pick and the mike linebacker there's a lot that's associated with that position and that role."

Edmunds would be the first to agree.

After playing outside linebacker at Virginia Tech, all the reads and angles at middle linebacker were new to him. Playing instinctively proved difficult through the first half of the season as he was focused on executing the scheme as a unit consistently while also trying to make plays himself.