Buffalo Bills
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An Overview of the Buffalo Bills Defense
The Bills have played good defense over the last few years. The 2024 edition slipped in some areas, but did enough to make Buffalo contenders. The secondary gave up a high percentage of completions and ranked 22nd in yards, while the run defense was 12th in yards and 18th in yards per carry. The pass rush was mediocre as well, with Buffalo's 39 sacks tied for 18th. What saved the unit from utter mediocrity was their knack for making game-changing plays. With 16 interceptions and 16 fumble recoveries, the Bills were third in turnover and 11th in points allowed.
The organization was not happy with last year's performance, so they made a concerted effort to address this side of the ball. Free agency brought Joey Bosa and Michael Hoecht to boost the pass rush, along with corner Dane Jackson and safety Darrick Forrest to provide depth in the secondary. The team was not done there as the draft was all bout defense. Buffalo added defenders in each of the first six rounds, starting at the corner position with Maxwell Hairston. Adding bodies is no guarantee of improvement, but it is a clear indicator of effort and intent. I expect a better showing.
Buffalo Bills Defensive Linemen
There is only one projected new starter along the Bills' front, but there will be several new faces in the rotation. The impact of Joey Bosa can be huge if he can only stay on the field. He is entering his tenth season, spending the first nine with the Chargers. Bosa managed a full slate of games in just four of those nine, with the last coming in 2021. He's missed 23 games over the last three seasons and is already sidelined by a calf injury that will keep him out until at least the start of training camp.
If Bosa is healthy, he should be a big boost for the Bills. In the four years that he was not injured, Bosa totaled 41.5 sacks and forced 13 turnovers. In three of the four, he put up at least 51 tackles. It comes down to the old cliché: the most important ability is availability.
Greg Rousseau turned in the most productive of his four seasons as a pro in 2024. Injuries across the league helped him to a top-ten final rank, while his per-game average was 17th. Rousseau set career marks in tackles at 36, assists at 17, and turnovers with 4, while tying his 2022 mark of 8 sacks.
It's not hard to figure out why Rousseau had his best year; it was because they finally let him stay on the field enough to make an impact. Over his first three years, Rousseau never played more than 585 snaps while averaging 524. In 2024, he played 735. The dilemma for fantasy managers is that we don't know whether the increase in snaps was intentional or simply a result of injuries removing some players from the rotation. If he plays 700+ snaps again, Rousseau is a safe bet to be a solid second starter for us. If Buffalo returns to using 4-5 players in a virtually equal rotation, as they have in the past, Rousseau becomes borderline roster-worthy as little more than a matchup-based bye-week flier.
Over his first four years with the Bills, A.J. Epenesa served as a rotational backup, playing mostly on passing downs. In 2024, he had the chance to start opposite Rousseau. The result was his highest career tackle totals with the same number of sacks (6) that he recorded in each of the two previous years. The bump in snaps was not enough to make Epenesa fantasy relevant. If Bosa misses time, Epenesa would move back into the starting role, but there is no reason to think his numbers would be any better.
Between the signing of Bosa and Michael Hoecht, and the selection of Landon Jackson in round three, it looks a lot like Buffalo will go back to the mass rotation concept that we've seen in the past. If they are rotating five players, it makes no difference how good any of them are. There will not be enough snaps for anyone to have consistent value.
In Ed Oliver and DaQuan Jones, Buffalo has an outstanding tandem of starters on the inside. Oliver has been a mainstay in Buffalo's lineup since joining the team as a first-round pick in 2019. He is a steady contributor both on the field and on the stat sheet. As the 3-technique tackle, Oliver averaged 26-15-4, a turnover, and 3 batted passes over his first three seasons. While those are not big numbers, they were enough to make him roster-worthy as a low DT2 or solid DT3.
Many players put up their best numbers in contract years. Oliver missed that memo. He signed an extension heading into the 2023 season and then blew up the box scores for the best production of his career at 34 tackles, 17 assists, and 9.5 sacks. Unfortunately, 2024 was an ugly year for Oliver. He was shut out in two of the first four games before suffering a hamstring injury in week five. Oliver was back on the field in week seven, but was not the same player. It was not until week 15 that he started to look healthy.
It's hard to say which version of Oliver we will get this year. Will it be the guy with 35-40 combined stops and 3-4 sacks, or the one with 45-50 tackles and 6-7 sacks? It's worth picking him up in the late/last rounds as a backup with upside, just in case.
Jones will get the starting nod next to Oliver. He is a space eater and a good anchor versus the run, but is unlikely to be an IDP factor. Six Buffalo tackles saw significant action last season. Only Oliver was on the field for more than 50% of the action every week.
With free agent addition Larry Ogunjobi serving a six-game suspension to start the year, second-round pick T.J. Sanders and fourth-rounder Deone Walker should factor into the rotation right away. With a powerful upper body and quick hands, Sanders has a knack for getting off blocks and making plays in tight places. He was a standout against the run and a contributor to the pass rush over two years as a starter for South Carolina, totaling 93 combined stops and 8.5 sacks. While the ability is there, the opportunity likely will not be.
Walker is huge at 6-foot-7, 331 pounds. He will likely be groomed to take over for Jones, who will be 34 by the end of the season. Walker had a big year for Kentucky as a sophomore in 2023, totaling 55 stops, including 7.5 sacks.
- Edge Greg Rousseau – Decent second starter if the snap count is there
- Edge A.J. Epenesa – Marginal value at bets
- Edge Joey Bosa – Major injury risk with second starter upside
- Edge Michael Hoecht – Six-game suspension to open the season
- Edge Landon Jackson – Possible dynasty consideration
- Edge Javon Solomon – No impact
- DT Ed Oliver – Target as depth with high DT2 upside
- DT DaQuan Jones – Marginal impact at best
- DT Deone Walker – Rotational rookie
- DT T.J. Sanders – Injury sleeper/dynasty prospect
- DT Larry Ogunjobi – marginal impact after serving a suspension