Is Bills Defensive Line Better In 2016?

Is the Buffalo Bills defensive line better in 2016 than they were in 2015?

The Bills defensive line struggled in 2015. They finished with the second lowest sack total in the league with 21 after coming off a league-high 54 the year before. For the sake of this article, we are going to include defensive tackles, defensive ends, and outside linebackers into one “defensive line” article.

Part of the reason for the decline in sack numbers was the team’s ability to adjust to Rex Ryan’s defensive scheme from the one ran by Jim Schwartz the two years prior.

On top of that, star defensive end/outside linebacker Mario Williams only gave effort when he wanted to, as documented by Pete Prisco of CBSSports.com.

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With Mario not trying on many plays teams were able to focus on blocking Jerry Hughes on the other side of the field. That was part of the reason for Jerry’s decline in production after two consecutive seasons with 9.5 sacks or more.

The outside linebackers in a 3-4 system, or a 5-2 however you want to phrase it, are really edge rushers. The edge rusher role will be filled by Jerry Hughes on one side and rookie first-round draft pick Shaq Lawson on the other side once he returns from shoulder surgery.

Another reason the team underperformed last season was the absence of Kyle Williams who was injured and did not see the field after Week 6. Kyle is a leader on the defensive side of the ball the same way Eric Wood is on the offensive side. In his absence, the younger players missed having his positive influence in the locker room when the season started to derail last year.

So will the Bills 2016 defensive line be better than the 2015 unit? The answer, in my opinion, is YES!

The Bills were able to add plenty of talent to the group with first round pick Shaq Lawson and third round pick Adolphus Washington. Both players will see plenty of playing time this season and should make an immediate impact on the field.

Having leader Kyle Williams return to the roster is only going to help. He should be able to provide a consistent veteran presence on the Bills line while also mentoring the younger players on how to carry themselves as pros.

Star defensive tackle Marcell Dareus will anchor the center of the Bills line. He’s one of the best in the business and should turn in another great year. Corbin Bryant will also see many snaps on the line and will provide great depth to the group.

Being in Rex’s system for a second season will also be a positive factor. The players have had all offseason to familiarize themselves with Rex’s scheme and the terminology used in it. The communication should be much better on that side of the ball.

The last reason is simply the law of averages. The Bills defense did historically bad, considering the pass rushing talent that they had on the roster. There is no excuse for how little sacks they ended up getting and in 2016 that number should move up significantly to where it was in years past.

That does not mean they will end up with 54 sacks like they did in 2014 or 57 in 2013, but in the three years prior to that they still averaged over 30 sacks a year which would almost be a 50 percent increase over last year’s putrid performance.

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With the influx of young players, the return of Kyle Williams, another year for the team to learn Rex’s system and just generally the law of averages the Bills defensive line should be a much better and productive unit in 2016 than they were in 2015.

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