Buffalo never saw either player at their peak, but two former Bills still landed on Pro Football Focus’ All-25-Year Team.

The 2000s have officially spanned a quarter century, and Pro Football Focus marked the milestone by naming its ultimate NFL team from 2000 to 2024.

Two former Buffalo Bills — edge rusher Von Miller and cornerback Antoine Winfield Sr. — earned spots on the 24-player list, which includes 11 players on offense, 11 on defense, plus a punter and kicker.

PFF began grading every NFL player in each game starting in 2006 but extended its analysis to include exceptional performances from the earlier years of the millennium.

Miller was in the twilight of his career in Buffalo, and neither party has shut the door on a potential return to the Bills this season.

Winfield was drafted by the Bills in the first round in 1999 and spent his first five seasons in Buffalo before signing with the Minnesota Vikings in 2004, where he became one of the league’s top cornerbacks.

Marshawn Lynch, Buffalo's 2007 first-round pick, was honorable mention at running back behind Derrick Henry. Lynch made the Pro Bowl in 2008 with the Bills but was traded to the Seattle Seahawks for a fourth-round pick and fifth-round pick early into the 2010 season. He was voted to four straight Pro Bowls with Seattle from 2011-2014 with at least 1,200 rushing yards in each season. Lynch led the NFL in rushing touchdowns in 2013 and 2014 and helped the Seahawks win Super Bowl 48.

The Bills endured a rough start to the century, missing the playoffs in 17 straight seasons from 2000 to 2016 and posting a 112–160 record (.411 winning percentage) over that span. Since then, Buffalo has gone 76–41 (.623), including five straight AFC East titles.

Von Miller

Miller, an eight-time Pro Bowler and two-time Super Bowl champion, has played 13 seasons with the Denver Broncos (2011–2021), Los Angeles Rams (2021), and Buffalo Bills (2022–2024). He burst onto the scene with 11.5 sacks in his rookie year, earning Defensive Rookie of the Year honors, and followed it with career highs of 18.5 sacks and 28 tackles for loss in 2012.

He was named MVP of Super Bowl 50 and is the highest-graded edge defender of all time by PFF, with a career grade of 95.1.

"He owns nine seasons with at least a 90.0 PFF overall grade — by far the most at the position, as the next closest player (Khalil Mack) has six," Pro Football Focus said. "Miller joins Nick Bosa as the only edge defender to rank in the top five in career pressure rate (16.5%), career pass-rush win rate (16.7%) and career PFF pass-rush grade (93.9)."

Buffalo signed Miller to a six-year, $120 million contract in March 2022. He posted eight sacks in his first 11 games before tearing his ACL on Thanksgiving. He struggled to regain form in 2023 and had six sacks in 13 games in 2024. The Bills released him on March 9.

7 Nov 1999: Antoine Winfield #26 of the Buffalo Bills tackles Larry Centers #37 of the Washington Redskins during the game at the Redskins Stadium in Landover, Maryland. The Bills defeated the Redskins 34-17.

Von Miller stats

Denver Broncos (2011-2021): 142 games; 509 tackles; 110.5 sacks; 142 tackles for loss; 25 forced fumbles; 9 fumble recoveries; 2 interceptions; 225 quarterback hits; 21 passes defended
Los Angeles Rams (2021): 8 games; 31 tackles; 5 sacks; 12 tackles for loss; 1 forced fumble; 8 quarterback hits; 1 pass defended
Buffalo Bills (2022-2024): 36 games; 41 tackles; 14 sacks; 17 tackles for loss; 1 forced fumble; 23 quarterback hits; 2 passes defended
Career total: 186 games; 581 tackles; 129.5 sacks; 171 tackles for loss; 256 quarterback hits; 27 forced fumbles; 9 fumble recoveries; 2 interceptions; 24 passes defended

Antoine Winfield Sr.

Winfield Sr. entered the NFL as the No. 23 overall pick by Buffalo in 1999, fresh off winning the Jim Thorpe Award at Ohio State. Though considered undersized at 5-foot-9, 180 pounds, he built a reputation as one of the most technically sound and physical tackling cornerbacks in league history.

He helped lead the Bills to the playoffs in his rookie season and recorded a third-quarter interception of Steve McNair in the infamous “Music City Miracle” game, a 22–16 Wild Card loss to the Titans. Winfield posted a career-high 109 tackles in 2003, his final season in Buffalo.

In 2004, Winfield signed with the Vikings, where he played for nine seasons and became an elite cornerback. PFF, which began full player grading in 2006, rated Winfield as the No. 1 cornerback three times between 2006 and 2012 and ranked him in the top 10 five times in that span.

He was selected to three straight Pro Bowls (2008–2010), and his 94.5 career PFF grade ranks second among all cornerbacks since 2000, behind only Richard Sherman.

"While Winfield owns a top-10 PFF coverage grade all time (92.3), where he’s unique on this list of cornerbacks is that he also owns the best PFF run-defense grade (94.7) out of 355 qualifiers at the position since 2006," Pro Football Focus said. "Winfield’s 107 run defense stops are tied for the second most of all time among cornerbacks, while his 2.47-yard average depth of tackle against the run ranks as the best mark among 137 qualifiers since 2006."

Winfield's son, Antoine Winfield Jr., is an All-Pro safety with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

Antoine Winfield stats

Buffalo Bills (1999-2003): 72 games; 357 tackles; 6 interceptions; 1 sack; 3 forced fumbles; 2 fumble recoveries; 43 passes defended
Minnesota Vikings (2004-2012): 119 games; 737 tackles; 21 interceptions; 6.5 sacks; 11 forced fumbles; 9 fumble recoveries; 74 passes defended
Career total: 191 games; 1,094 tackles; 27 interceptions; 7.5 sacks; 14 forced fumbles; 11 fumble recoveries; 117 passes defended