Edmunds played at Virginia Tech from 2015 to 2017 under head coachesFrank Beamer and Justin Fuente. As a junior in 2017, he was a finalist for the Butkus Award after recording 108 tackles and 5.5 sacks. After the season, he decided to forgo his senior year and enter the 2018 NFL Draft. He finished his career with 213 tackles, 10 sacks, and 1 interception.
Professional career
On January 10, 2018, Edmunds released a statement through Twitter announcing his decision to forgo his remaining eligibility and enter the 2018 NFL Draft. Edmunds attended the NFL Scouting Combine in Indianapolis and completed the majority of drills, but opted to skip the short shuttle, three-cone drill, and vertical jump. Among all linebackers performing at the NFL Combine, Edmunds finished fifth in the 40-yard dash, 12th in the broad jump, and tied for 14th in the bench press. On March 14, 2018, Edmunds participated at Virginia Tech’s pro day, but opted to stand on his combine numbers and only performed positional drills. He attended pre-draft visits with the Buffalo Bills, Green Bay Packers, and San Francisco 49ers. At the conclusion of the pre-draft process, Edmunds was projected to be a first round pick by NFL draft experts and scouts. He was ranked as the top outside linebacker prospect in the draft by DraftScout.com and ESPN analyst Jeff Legwold. He was also ranked as the second best stack linebacker by Sports Illustrated and the second best linebacker in the draft by NFL analyst Mike Mayock.
2018
The Buffalo Bills selected Edmunds in the first round of the 2018 NFL Draft. In order to select Edmunds, the Buffalo Bills traded their first and third round picks to the Baltimore Ravens in exchange for a first round pick and a fifth round pick in the 2018 NFL Draft. Edmunds became the second youngest player to be drafted in NFL history at 19 years 11 months 24 days old, only behind Amobi Okoye at 19 years old 10 months 18 days, in 2007. Edmunds’ brother, Terrell, went on to be drafted in the first round by the Pittsburgh Steelers. Terrell’s selection earned them the distinction of becoming the first pair of brothers to be drafted in the first round of the same draft in NFL history. On May 12, 2018, the Buffalo Bills signed Edmunds to a fully guaranteed four-year, $12.65 million contract that includes a signing bonus of $7.28 million. He entered training camp slated as the starting middle linebacker after Preston Brown departed in free agency. Head coach Sean McDermott named Edmunds the starting middle linebacker to begin the regular season. He started alongside outside linebackers Matt Milano and Lorenzo Alexander. He made his professional regular season debut and first career start in the Buffalo Bills’ season-opener at the Baltimore Ravens and recorded seven combined tackles, deflected two passes, and made his first career sack during their 47–3 loss. Edmunds made his first career sack on Ravens’ quarterback Joe Flacco for less than a one-yard loss in the second quarter. Edmunds recorded his first NFL interception against the New York Jets in week 14, picking off Sam Darnold. At age 20, he became the youngest NFL player ever to record an interception. Following a strong month of play, Edmunds was named the NFL defensive rookie of the month in December after recording 43 tackles, 4 passes defended, 1 sack and 2 interceptions. Overall, he recorded 121 total tackles on the year with two sacks, two interceptions, and two forced fumbles.
2019
Edmunds was named a team captain at the beginning of the year. He notched his first sack of the season in week 10 against the Cleveland Browns, taking down quarterback Baker Mayfield in the endzone for a Bills safety. In week 11 against the Miami Dolphins, Edmunds recorded a team high 12 tackles and made a half sack on Ryan Fitzpatrick in the 37–20 win. In week 14 against the Baltimore Ravens, Edmunds recorded 8 tackles and his first interception of the season off a pass thrown by Lamar Jackson during the 24–17 loss. In the AFC Wild Card game against the Houston Texans, Edmunds recorded a team high 12 tackles, sacked quarterback Deshaun Watson once, and recovered a fumble forced by Tre'Davious White on Deandre Hopkins during the 22–19 overtime loss. Edmunds started every game in his sophomore season, recording 1 interception, 1 1/2 sacks, and 115 tackles. Edmunds was named to the 2020 Pro Bowl, the first Pro Bowl of his career, in replacement of the injured Dont'a Hightower.
Personal life
His brothers, Trey and Terrell also played college football at Virginia Tech. Trey plays in the NFL for the Pittsburgh Steelers and Terrell was also drafted in the 2018 NFL Draft in the first round by the Pittsburgh Steelers. Their father, Ferrell Edmunds, also played in the NFL, appearing in two Pro Bowls. Tremaine and Terrell Edmunds are the first set of brothers to be drafted in the first round of the same NFL Draft.
