Buffalo Bills: Grading the defensive ends on roster before 2021 NFL Draft
Last offseason, the Buffalo Bills saw Shaq Lawson leave in free agency and hoped the combination of Mario Addison, along with second round pick A.J. Epenesa, could help improve their pass rush in 2020.
Unfortunately, that didn’t happen and the Bills seemingly are once again looking for an answer on how to improve the position. This is who they currently have on the roster and the grade for the position when considering starters but also the depth.
Defensive ends on the Buffalo Bills roster
- Mario Addison
- Bryan Cox Jr.
- A.J. Epenesa
- Jerry Hughes
- Darryl Johnson
- Mike Love
- Efe Obada
Position Grade: C+
While the sack total didn’t improve much, Jerry Hughes continues to prove he is one of the better pass rushers in the league as he finished the year with only 4.5 sacks but had 25 quarterback pressures. The question now is where will the help for Hughes come from and is it already on the roster or will they add another pass rusher in the 2021 NFL Draft?
They did select A.J. Epenesa in the second round last year and he got off to a slow start to his rookie season. General manager Brandon Beane addressed this at the end of the year where the team asked him to cut some weight and he actually cut too much. However, in the second half of the season, he played much better and could be in line for a bigger role this coming season.
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The concern at the defensive end position is the depth, which is a little more important than other positions. The reason is how much the team rotates players onto the field so while they have Mario Addison, Efe Obada, and Darryl Johnson, who could all be contributors, the Buffalo Bills may be looking to add another player early in the NFL Draft.