Since Ruben Brown departed Buffalo for Chicago, the Bills have tried every way imaginable to fill the void left by the first All-Decade guard. They moved tackles inside when they couldn't hack it on the outside. They signed journeymen free agents and gave the richest contract in team history to a free agent. They drafted guys in the second and later rounds of the NFL draft in hopes of finding a suitable replacement. We can hope that the two All-Decade guards for the 2010s are on the roster now in the form of high draft picks Eric Wood and Andy Levitre. Unfortunately, we have to vote on the second guard for this past decade first.
Chris Villarrial
In the same off-season Ruben Brown left the Bills to join the Bears, Buffalo signed former Bears guard Chris Villarrial. Villarrial started 39 games at right guard for the Bills from 2004-2006, recovering one fumble in 2004. In 2004, the Bills allowed Drew Bledsoe to be sacked only 37 times, the fewest in a season for the QB in seven years.
Brad Butler
Butler started 29 games in two seasons at right guard for Buffalo before moving to tackle in 2009. He was drafted in the fifth round out of Virginia in 2006 and was in the starting lineup for every game the following season. Butler and Derrick Dockery were the only Bills guards to play consecutive seasons together, and Butler was also a big part of both of Lynch's great seasons in 2007 and 2008. His career was plagued with injuries, though, and following a severe knee injury in 2009 he called it quits.
Derrick Dockery
Dockery owned the richest contract in Bills history when he signed for 7 years and 49 million dollars in 2007. He started 32 games at left guard for Buffalo and helped Marshawn Lynch to his Pro Bowl nod in 2008. In both of Dockery's seasons Lynch went over one thousand yards. He also recovered one fumble in each season before being released prior to the 2009 campaign.
Best of the Rest
Jaime Nails started 16 games at RG in 2000 helping the Bills to a top-ten offense. Marques Sullivan started 22 games from 2001-2003. Ross Tucker started 17 games combined at both guard spots in 2003 and 2004. Andy Levitre started all 16 games in 2009. First-round pick Eric Wood started the first ten games of his rookie season at guard before a devastating leg injury sidelined him for the rest of the year.
Now it's your turn to vote on who was the best Bills offensive guard of the decade after Ruben Brown. Leave your rationale in the comments section. We'll finish the offense next time by naming the center of the decade.
Previous Installments: QB, RB 1, RB 2, WR 1, WR 2, TE, OT 1, OT 2, OG 1