Madden 19: Buffalo Bills Player Ratings, Roster, Depth Chart & Playbooks

By Toby DurantHead of Content

The Buffalo Bills sprung into existence in October 28, 1959 as part of the AFL. In their first season, 1960, the Bills went 5-8-1, but it didn't take them too long to become a contender. In 1964 they went 12-2 and won the AFL title. They defended theirs championship in 1965, but by the time the NFL and AFL merged in 1970 they had fallen to the bottom of the league. As a member of the NFL the Bills were rarely impressive. In the early 80's they made the playoffs twice but lost in the divisional round on both occasions.

However, the Bills had a golden era too. In 1986 Marv Levy became head coach and Jim Kelly took over as starting quarterback. In 1988 they make it to the AFC conference championship game but lost. In 1989 they lost in the divisional round, but from 1990 to 1993 they claimed four straight AFC championships. Their run of making the Super Bowl in four straight years is yet to be equaled, but unfortunately the Bills ran into the Giants, Redskins, and Cowboys (twice) and lost all four Super Bowls. Since that Super Bowl XXVIII loss the Bills have been to the playoffs 5 times, winning just once. They went from 1999 to 2017 without a playoff appearance, spending years in mediocrity, or worse, as NFL fans forgot about them and the memories of the Levy/Kelly era became hazy.

Can you bring the Buffalo Bills back to prominence and win them their first Super Bowl at long last?

*All stats correct at time of writing

Team Rating

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The Buffalo Bills get a 74 overall rating from Madden 19. That is very poor, but isn't the worst around. They find themselves one point above the Arizona Cardinals and New York Giants. However, within the Bills 74 overall rating is a serious imbalance. The offense gets a 71 rating, which is the worst for any unit in Madden 19 and signals just how hard it will be to score points with the Bills in their current state. Defensively the Bills are much better, getting an 81 rating which puts them ahead of 8 teams and tied with three more. This is where you will have to hang your hat early on until you can bring the offense up to scratch.

Jerry Hughes, Defensive End (OVR 86)

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Age: 30

Development Trait: Quick

Contract: 2 years/$11.76 million

2018 Cap Hit: $5.62 million

Best Stats: Play Recognition (90), Block Shedding (89), Finesse Moves (88), Pursuit (88), Acceleration (87), Speed (82)

Jerry Hughes came into the NFL as a first-round pick for the Indianapolis Colts in 2010. He didn't register a sack as a rookie, and only got one in his second season. In his third year he got just 4 sacks and 10 QB hits before he was traded to the Buffalo Bills for linebacker Kelvin Sheppard in April 2013. In his first season with Buffalo Hughes doubled his career sack total, picking up 10 sacks along with 9 tackles for loss and 18 QB hits. He matched that number in 2014 too and signed an extension with Buffalo. Since then he has become the focal point for opposition blocking schemes.

Tre'Davious White, Cornerback (OVR 85)

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Age: 23

Development Trait: Quick

Contract: 3 years/$7.68 million

2018 Cap Hit: $2.42 million

Best Stats: Acceleration (93), Agility (93), Speed (91), Press (86), Man Coverage (85), Play Recognition (85), Zone Coverage (83), Jumping (80)

Buffalo selected Tre'Davious White with the 27th overall pick in the 2017 draft. He immediately became a starter for the Bills and one of the best players as he put together an incredibly strong rookie campaign. He was quickly placed on the oppositions best receivers, and finished his year with 4 interceptions, 18 pass deflections, and one touchdown to his name. White got serious Defensive Rookie of the Year consideration, and while he missed out he looks set to be a very good cornerback for years to come.

LeSean McCoy, Running Back (OVR 83)

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Age: 30

Development Trait: Quick

Contract: 2 years/$20.17 million

2018 Cap Hit: $8.27 million

Best Stats: Acceleration (92), Agility (92), Speed (90), Juke Move (89), Carrying (87), Spin Move (85), Elusiveness (84)

LeSean McCoy came into the NFL as a second-round pick in 2009 for the Philadelphia Eagles. He put up over 9,000 yards from scrimmage and scored 54 touchdowns for them in 6 years before being traded to Buffalo for linebacker Kiko Alonso. McCoy wasted little time in proving he could be successful as a Bills player too, and finished his first year in Buffalo with 4.4 yards per carry, 32 receptions, and 5 touchdowns. In 2016 he had his best season with Buffalo, setting a career-high mark of 5.4 yards per carry and registering 1,623 yards from scrimmage. He is the Bills best offensive weapon in Madden 19.

Josh Allen, Quarterback (OVR 76)

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Age: 22

Development Trait: Quick

Contract: 4 years/$21.18 million

2018 Cap Hit: $5.13 million

Best Stats: Throw Power (99), Acceleration (87), Throw On Run (85), Break Sack (85), Speed (84), Juke Move (84), Medium Accuracy (78), Short Accuracy (77)

The Bills took Josh Allen with seventh-overall pick in the 2018 draft. Allen played his college football at Wyoming and was the starter for his final 2 years there. He completed 56.2 percent of his passes in college, throwing for 5,066 yards and 44 touchdowns, along with 21 interceptions. Allen also added 767 yards and 12 scores on the ground. He comes into the NFL with a reputation for having a cannon attached to his right shoulder and for being quicker than he looks. His accuracy issues are a worry for players using him in Madden 19, but he is young enough that he can improve over time.

Full Roster & Depth Chart

QB
OVR
Speed
Throw Power
Short Accuracy
Medium Accuracy
Deep Accuracy
Throw Under Pressure
Play Action
Josh Allen
76
84
99
77
78
75
73
81
Matt Barkley
68
73
85
84
78
75
73
79
Derek Anderson
67
65
90
81
74
73
69
65
HB
OVR
Speed
Agility
Elusiveness
Carrying
Juke Move
Catching
LeSean McCoy
83
90
92
84
87
89
70
Chris Ivory
77
88
86
68
83
81
64
Marcus Murphy
74
88
85
83
83
86
62
Taiwan Jones
72
92
92
82
75
85
65
Keith Ford
64
88
82
72
83
74
60
FB
OVR
Speed
Strength
Carrying
Pass Block
Run Block
Lead Block
Impact Block
Patrick DiMarco
67
75
74
74
68
60
76
60
WR
OVR
Speed
Agility
Catching
Short Route
Medium Route
Deep Route
Catching In Traffic
Spectacular Catch
Release
Jumping
Zay Jones
79
90
86
87
79
78
73
85
90
75
87
Robert Foster
73
93
86
82
70
75
77
78
79
70
81
Isaiah McKenzie
72
92
96
81
74
72
74
73
76
73
86
Deonte Thompson
71
92
89
80
75
76
78
77
79
71
88
Ray-Ray McCloud III
69
89
87
84
77
71
69
81
77
62
83
Victor Bolden Jr
64
90
90
78
68
69
71
74
80
53
78
Da'Mari Scott
64
90
88
79
69
67
63
77
76
62
79
TE
OVR
Speed
Agility
Catching
Short Route
Medium Route
Deep Route
Run Block
Charles Clay
81
82
81
83
77
74
70
58
Jason Croom
74
83
78
79
66
62
57
57
Logan Thomas
70
84
82
74
63
60
56
60
Reid Ferguson
46
70
67
55
51
48
43
50
OL
OVR
Speed
Strength
Pass Block
Run Block
Lead Block
Impact Block
Dion Dawkins
78
69
90
81
80
82
81
Wyatt Teller
75
64
88
77
76
78
82
John Miller
66
86
86
78
71
66
81
Russell Bodine
72
66
90
77
73
70
83
Vladimir Ducasse
71
62
92
76
73
52
77
Ryan Groy
71
66
86
73
77
79
78
Jordan Mills
71
59
84
76
73
80
82
Conor McDermott
64
67
84
71
73
71
73
Jeremiah Sirles
64
60
78
69
72
78
77
Ike Boettger
59
57
74
66
70
67
70
DE
OVR
Speed
Agility
Strength
Block Shedding
Finesse Moves
Power Moves
Jerry Hughes
86
82
81
76
89
88
75
Trent Murphy
81
77
77
83
78
74
82
Shaq Lawson
80
82
78
85
83
63
76
Eddie Yarbrough
72
79
77
82
77
67
74
Mike Love
66
78
75
78
75
69
72
DT
OVR
Speed
Strength
Power Moves
Finesse Moves
Block Shedding
Impact Block
Kyle Williams
81
62
90
81
63
79
92
Star Lotulelei
79
58
96
77
54
75
87
Harrison Phillips
74
65
92
77
70
81
81
Jordan Phillips
72
67
89
80
61
67
86
OLB
OVR
Speed
Agility
Tackle
Hit Power
Play Recognition
Pursuit
Man Coverage
Zone Coverage
Lorenzo Alexander
85
83
78
80
86
96
83
60
69
Matt Milano
79
83
75
79
82
79
85
69
75
Deon Lacey
70
86
78
75
76
63
75
84
72
Corey Thompson
68
84
81
76
73
66
78
60
67
MLB
OVR
Speed
Agility
Tackle
Hit Power
Play Recognition
Pursuit
Man Coverage
Zone Coverage
Tremaine Edmunds
76
87
87
82
84
70
87
60
68
Julian Stanford
66
86
85
79
77
68
78
49
59
CB
OVR
Speed
Acceleration
Agility
Man Coverage
Zone Coverage
Press
Tre'Davious White
85
91
93
93
85
83
86
Levi Wallace
77
90
93
86
78
75
82
Taron Johnson
74
89
92
85
76
71
74
Ryan Lewis
68
91
89
92
73
70
74
Lafayette Pitts
67
90
89
87
71
76
65
Denzel Rice
64
87
92
83
69
72
77
FS
OVR
Speed
Acceleration
Agility
Play Recognition
Man Coverage
Zone Coverage
Micah Hyde
86
88
89
90
86
82
86
Dean Marlowe
70
86
88
87
62
65
69
SS
OVR
Speed
Acceleration
Tackle
Play Recognition
Man Coverage
Zone Coverage
Jordan Poyer
83
87
93
70
79
80
84
Rafael Bush
74
87
86
68
76
71
74
Siran Neal
68
87
88
72
55
68
75
ST
OVR
Kick Power
Kick Accuracy
Stephen Hauschka (K)
77
92
89
Matt Darr (P)
74
91
79
Corey Bojorquez (P)
72
94
77

The Bills roster is very thin. There are some good players on it, but no one rated over 90. Offensively it starts with Josh Allen (99 throw power, 85 break sack) under center. Around him there is little to get excited about. LeSean McCoy (92 acceleration, 90 speed) is a very good option at running back but after that things get shaky. Zay Jones (91 acceleration, 90 spectacular catch) is the teams best wide receiver, with Robert Foster (93 speed, 82 catching) offering some speed on the outside, while Charles Clay (89 acceleration, 84 catch in traffic) is a safe pair of hands at tight end. Even the offensive line has problems, with only Dion Dawkins (90 strength, 81 pass block) and Wyatt Teller (88 strength, 82 impact block) worth keeping around.

Defensively things are much better for the Bills. Jerry Hughes (90 play recognition, 89 block shedding) offers the best play along the defensive line, but he is supported by Trent Murphy (83 strength, 82 power moves) and Shaq Lawson (85 tackle, 85 strength) on the edge as well as Kyle Williams (92 impact block, 90 strength) on the inside. At linebacker Lorenzo Alexander (96 play recognition, 82 power moves) is a good blitzer from outside linebacker while Tremaine Edmunds (87 speed, 84 hit power) offers speed at potential at middle linebacker. The secondary is very strong, with Tre'Davious White (93 acceleration, 86 press) as the #1 corner and a good safety pairing of Micah Hyde (90 agility, 86 zone coverage) and Jordan Poyer (93 acceleration, 84 zone coverage) that can control the middle of the field.

Buffalo Bills Playbook - Offense

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I Form Pro

I Form Slot

I Form Tight

Strong I Pro

Strong I Slot

Strong I Y Off

Weak I Close

Singleback Ace

Singleback Ace Pair

Singleback Ace Slot

Singleback Bunch Ace

Singleback Deuce

Singleback Dice Slot

Singleback Wing Pair

Singleback Wing Slot

Singleback Wing Tight

Singleback Y Trips

Pistol Wing Flex

Shotgun Bunch

Shotgun Doubles

Shotgun Doubles Flex Wk Pats

Shotgun Doubles Y Off

Shotgun Doubles Y-Flex

Shotgun Empty Base Flex

Shotgun Empty Y Slot

Shotgun Snugs Flip

Shotgun Split Flex

Shotgun Spread Y-Slot

Shotgun Trips TE

Shotgun Trips TE Flex

Shotgun Trips Y-Flex

Shotgun Wing Slot Offset

Shotgun Y Off Trips Wk

The Buffalo Bills offensive playbook is pretty well suited to their personnel. It contains a lot of I Formation sets that you can use to run the ball and chew up clock, as well as pull out deep play action passes that make use of Allen's 99 throw power. There is only 1 Pistol formation which is a shame because Allen's speed could be put to good use, but you have option plays and some rollouts within the Shotgun sets that you can move the pocket with. One big plus for the Bills playbook is that it includes the PA Shot Wheel in Shotgun Trips TE, this is one of the best plays in Madden 19 and can be a chunk play every time.

Buffalo Bills Playbook - Defense

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4-3 Normal

4-3 Over

4-3 Over Plus

4-3 Under

4-3 Wide 9

5-2 Normal

Nickel Normal

Nickel Double A Gap

Nickel Wide 9

Big Nickel Over G

Dime Normal

Quarter Normal

Quarter 1-3-7

Quarter 3 Deep

Dollar 3-2-6

Goal Line Defense 5-3-3

Goal Line Defense 5-4-2

The Bills defensive playbook is a standard 4-3 one. You have the usual 5 4-3 formations and get the 5-2 Normal as your heavier look. I like the 5-2 a lot, but it isn't as deceptive as the 4-4 Split that a lot of 4-3 playbooks have. When it comes to Nickel & Dime formations the Bills playbook is somewhat lacking. You only have three Nickel formations and just one Dime package to make use of. This means you'll have to get a bit creative with some playcalls and slide your DL a bit to create confusion in your opponent.