Buffalo Bills defensive line too low in recent rankings by Pro Football Focus
Even though the Buffalo Bills added the most along the defensive line, it wasn’t enough to move them up much in recent rankings by Pro Football Focus.
Pro Football Focus has been releasing their position rankings over the past two weeks and there has been times the Buffalo Bills have ranked pretty high, like at wide receiver, and other times where they may be lower than expected, like offensive line.
The latest rankings, looking at defensive line, has the Bills group much lower than expected. The Buffalo Bills defense as a whole is one of the best in the league but last year this group didn’t perform at a really high level. Jerry Hughes took a step backwards, Trent Murphy struggled to live up to the free agent deal he received a full seasons prior and Ed Oliver got off to a slow start.
If the rankings were based just on the performance of last year then it makes sense to put the Buffalo Bills defensive line at 20th. However, general manager Brandon Beane was active this offseason that not only brought in starters, like Mario Addison, but great depth with Vernon Butler and Quinton Jefferson as well as second round draft pick A.J. Epenesa.
"For the seventh-straight year since joining the team in 2013, Jerry Hughes led the Bills in pressures, finishing with 54. He produced a 73.7 pass-rush grade that ranked 28th in the league, and he’ll be counted on to lead the pass rush once again in 2020."
In PFF explanation, they say that their success is going to be dependant on how Jerry Hughes performs in 2020. While Hughes was the leading defensive end and expected to carry the pass rush in past seasons, the moves the Buffalo Bills took the pressure off Hughes to be that lead rusher.
The way the Bills defensive line is constructed they have four legitimate defensive ends with Hughes, Murphy, Addison and Epensa. However, the interior is where the Bills hold an advantage in this area over other teams. Oliver is a good penetrating defensive tackle but they also have Butler as well as Quinton Jefferson, who isn’t even mentioned in Pro Football Focus’ description.
dark. Next. Buffalo Bills 53-man roster predictions prior to training camp
The Buffalo Bills got great depth along their defensive line and should be much higher on rankings like this next year with the additions this offseason.