This is the third of an eight-part series diving into each position group for the Buffalo Bills leading into training camp July 24.
More than $100 million in free agency and four first- and second-round picks spent on defensive linemen since 2019 hasn’t produced the desired results in the most critical moments.
In their last four playoff losses, the Buffalo Bills have logged a total of four sacks, while allowing 5.6 yards per carry and 7 yards per play. With little pressure to deter them in those games, opposing quarterbacks Patrick Mahomes and Joe Burrow have completed 72.3% of their passes and thrown 10 touchdown passes with no interceptions.
Mahomes completed 73.9% of his passes in last season’s AFC divisional round game, but the Chiefs gashed the Bills for 6.1 yards per on the ground, so he attempted a playoff career-low 23 passes in the game.
Gone from that team is Leonard Floyd, who led the Bills with 10 ½ sacks. Shaq Lawson is also gone, along with defensive tackles Jordan Phillips, Tim Settle, Linval Joseph and Poona Ford.
Many of those players were limited in production, but the Bills had to replace them on a strict budget, bringing back the question as to whether the defensive line can finally come to play for the Bills in the postseason.
That starts with a new defensive line coach. Marcus West was promoted from assistant defensive line coach when Eric Washington left to be defensive coordinator of the Chicago Bears.
“He’s got a great relationship with the players and he’s deserving of this job,” Bills defensive coordinator Bobby Babich said. “… He had a two-year interview in my eyes, and he was very impressive. He’s very intelligent. Works his butt off. Understands people. And that D-line room is different, right? The D-line room across the NFL is different. And he has showed that he can develop those relationships and can earn the trust of the players to help them succeed.”
Where are the sacks coming from?
Because of salary cap restraints, the Bills may not have the same depth on the defensive line as they did in the past. That means 35-year-old Von Miller is going to play a heavy role and is in need of a bounce-back year after struggling to recover from an ACL tear, going without a sack in 12 games.
Since Miller is an unknown, it puts more pressure on Greg Rousseau and A.J. Epenesa. Rousseau has 17 sacks in three seasons after being a first-round pick in 2021, but he has to show he can be a consistent threat off the edge in pass-rush situations.
Rousseau had five sacks last season, down from eight in 2022. The Bills picked up his fifth-year option in May, but to get a hefty contract, he’s going to need to be a double-digit sack guy moving forward.
Epenesa, on the other hand, came back to Buffalo on a two-year deal after his rookie contract and the Bills will need him to go from a rotational player to a full-time starter. He’s had 6 ½ sacks in each of the last two seasons, but his last sack in the regular season came in Week 10 last year.
The Bills brought in veterans Dawuane Smoot and Casey Toohill to bolster the group, but neither matched the career production of Floyd. And youngsters Kameron Cline, Kingsley Jonathan and rookie Javon Solomon are unproven.
“When you talk about Greg and A.J. both, they’ve put good things out there,” Bills coach Sean McDermott said. “They flashed really high-level moments, now it’s about being full-time starters and taking that next step to continue to take their game to another level and they’re aware of that. And both of those guys worked extremely hard. And that’s the opportunity that’s really, quite frankly, in front of both of them.”
Bills need depth at DT to produce
Who is going to play defensive tackle is less of a mystery, with Ed Oliver and DaQuan Jones locking in as the starters.
Austin Johnson is likely the top backup to Jones, coming on a one-year deal after spending the last two seasons of his eight-year career with the Chargers. The Bills also brought in veteran DeShawn Williams and drafted DeWayne Carter in the third round.
All five are likely to make the roster based on roster makeup in previous seasons, but Carter, Johnson and Williams will need to provide the Bills with depth when Oliver and Jones aren’t on the field.
Jones played more than 50% of the snaps in three of the first four games before his injury, but doing so for the entire season is a big ask for a 32-year-old. Oliver produced a career-high 9 ½ sacks after signing a $68 million extension and played 68% of the defensive snaps after Jones missed 10 games with a torn pectoral and Phillips was bitten by injuries all season.
The Bills could also benefit from Oliver taking another step this season. He’s got five tackles for a loss and two sacks in 10 career postseason games, but hasn’t been the game-wrecker they need him to be in those moments.
“Just pick up where I left off last year and just continue to grow as a person, as a player, as a teammate,” Oliver said. “As a veteran on the team, just continue to just add to my game. Use the guys around me to help me get better and help them get better and we just feed off each other. You need help to get where I got last year.”