Sean McDermott wants a ‘more physical, nasty’ Buffalo Bills defense

(Photo by Brett Carlsen/Getty Images)
(Photo by Brett Carlsen/Getty Images)

Despite an incredible season for the Buffalo Bills defense in 2018, head coach Sean McDermott is looking for more in 2019.

Buffalo Bills head coach Sean McDermott hasn’t been shy in speaking his mind to the media. On Tuesday’s mandatory minicamp media availability press conference, the coach stated what he wants next year’s defense to be better; not statistically, instead, he wants them to foster a new mindset, as he said;

"We’ve got work to do on that side of the ball. Also, it’s a mindset, and I’m looking for a more physical, nasty defense than what we were a year ago."

McDermott’s want for a more physical, nasty Bills defense comes off of the heels of a season where the same unit led the team. In 2018, the team allowed a league-low 2,867 passing yards and 4,706 yards total; good for second in the league. Yet, McDermott, as a defensive minded and always growing coach, is looking for more in his defense.

The Bills’ 2019 roster may answer McDermott’s call for physicality and nastiness. The team kept most of their defense in-tact and is looking from growth from returning second and third-year players as well as production from their rookies.

2018 first-round pick, linebacker Tremaine Edmunds can set the physically dominant tone for the Bills, because he’s just that. His 6-foot-5, 253-pound frame coupled with his 4.54 second (40-time) speed makes for a whole new prototype of physicality and explosiveness. At the end of his rookie season, he showed that he could make the middle of the field a nightmare for opposing offenses, winning the NFL December Defensive Rookie of the Month.

Third-year starters cornerback Tre’Davious White and linebacker Matt Milano should continue to set the tone defensively. Each is a Pro-Bowl caliber player in their own right and showed it last year. However, neither of the previously mentioned is the catalyst for improvement in physicality and nastiness; rookie Ed Oliver takes my vote.

The No. 9 overall selection in this years draft, Oliver may be the monster in the trenches McDermott is looking for. Despite being used an undersized nose tackle while at Houston, Oliver was nearly unblockable due to his fleet-footedness, power, and, of course, nastiness. Now in Buffalo, he’ll play at his more comfortable 4-3 defensive tackle position alongside either Harrison Phillips (Kyle Williams 2.0) or Star Lotulelei.

With Oliver on-board, the Bills’ defensive could get back to their nasty ways. Considering that veterans Jerry Hughes, Lorenzo Alexander, Jordan Poyer, and Micah Hyde are returning as well as a healthy Trent Murphy and a motivated Shaq Lawson, the Bills are building a nasty defense; just as McDermott likes it.

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