The Buffalo Bills struck gold in the draft once from Virginia Tech when they took Bruce Smith. They're hoping to do so again by selecting Tremaine Edmunds.
The Bills took the youngest Edmunds brother with the 16th pick Thursday night in the first round of the NFL Draft, which was held at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas.
Flanked by his brothers and parents, and with Hokies head coach Justin Fuente and defensive coordinator Bud Foster in attendance, Edmunds became the 10th player from Virginia Tech to be selected in the first round of the NFL’s regular draft and the first since cornerback Kyle Fuller went 14th to the Bears in 2014.
"It means everything to me," Edmunds said in an ESPN interview shortly after being selected. "I've got such a good support system. A lot of family came out. Friends came out. I can't thank them enough. This is a special moment for me and I know it's a special moment for them."
Edmunds was Buffalo's second pick of the night. The Bills traded into the seventh spot to take quarterback Josh Allen out of Wyoming, then did more dealing when it came time to pick Edmunds. They traded up into Baltimore's spot at No. 16 to make him the second linebacker to come off the board, following Georgia's Roquan Smith, who the Bears took with the eighth pick.
"He was there and we felt like we couldn’t let him fall any more," Buffalo general manager Brandon Beane said at a post-draft press conference. "We needed that and thought it was a good fit for us.”
“You look for guys that can make plays," said Bills coach Sean McDermott, who was drawn to Edmundses' versatility. "In terms of changing games, affecting the quarterback in a lot of different ways is part of what attracted us to Tremaine.”
The 6-foot-5, 253-pound Edmunds was an All-American for the Hokies last year who had 226 tackles, 35 tackles for a loss and 10 tackles for a loss in his three-year Virginia Tech career.
"He's a rare combination of size and speed," ESPN analyst Kirk Herbstreit said right after the pick. "He's 6-5, 253 pounds and he runs a 4.5. You just don't see linebackers like that. And then he's got some versatility. Could play in a 3-4 as an outside linebacker. He can play inside. He can rush the quarterback. I think there a lot of things to like."
"I think the one thing you want to continue to see him grow in is just being a little more forceful in the way he approaches the game and makes plays behind the line of scrimmage."
Edmunds is the second Virginia Tech player to be taken in the first round by the Bills, who also took Smith No. 1 overall in 1985. Smith ended up leading the Bills to four Super Bowls and made the Hall of Fame.
Edmunds declared for the NFL Draft with a year of eligibility left and saw his draft stock rise throughout the offseason, when he wowed during workouts and the combine.
He turns 20 on May 2. At 19 years, 11 months and 25 days old, he’s the second-youngest player in the common era of the draft (since 1967), behind only defensive tackle Amobi Okoye, a Louisville defensive tackle taken 10th overall by the Texans in 2007 who was a little over a month younger.
Edmunds set the draft bar for the talented trio of brothers from Danville. His older brother Trey was an undrafted free agent who latched on with the Saints last season. Middle brother Terrell, a Hokies safety who also declared early for the draft this past winter, will be selected sometime in the next two days.
Tremaine’s selection comes almost 30 years to the day after his father, Ferrell Edmunds, was a third-round pick by the Dolphins out of Maryland in 1988. Ferrell had a seven-year career as a tight end for Miami and Seattle, catching 148 passes for 1,894 yards and 12 touchdowns and twice earning Pro Bowl recognition.
Several other Hokies are waiting to hear their name called, including Terrell Edmunds, defensive tackle Tim Settle, offensive lineman Wyatt Teller, cornerbacks Brandon Facyson and Greg Stroman and wide receiver Cam Phillips.