What positions do the Buffalo Bills need to address on defense this offseason?
The Buffalo Bills defense for most of the year was one of the best in the league. The finished the regular season allowing the fewest total yards per game (272.8), fewest passing yards per game (163), and points per game (17.0).
The defense also did a great job of forcing turnovers this past season with 19 interceptions, which was tied for the third-highest total, and 11 fumble recovers, tied for sixth in the league.
When looking ahead to this offseason, the Bills have a majority of their key starters returning with players like Jordan Poyer, Micah Hyde, Taron Johnson, Tre’Davious White, Ed Oliver, Matt Milano, and Tremaine Edmunds under contract through at least next season.
However, there are a few positions that have some question marks and need to be addressed this offseason. Over the next few months, these are three that I expect general manager Brandon Beane to add to, either in free agency or the NFL Draft.
Buffalo Bills Position of Need: Defensive End
This has been a pain point for the Buffalo Bills for the past few years and isn’t one that showed significant improvement this past year. That improvement certainly is not due to a lack of trying as Buffalo has used high draft picks at the position with the selection of A.J. Epenesa in the second round of the 2020 NFL Draft and Greg Rousseau and Boogie Basham in the first and second round this past year.
The first decision for the front office will be to decide whether or not to bring back Jerry Hughes, Mario Addison, or Efe Obada who are all free agents. It wouldn’t be surprising to see them bring back one as depth is important but they should also try to find a top pass rusher that can lead this position group.
The answer may be Greg Rousseau, who showed some promise as a rookie, but going out and targeting a top free agent at the position can transform a defense. The Cinncinnati Bengals did it this past offseason with the signing Trey Hendrickson and while he isn’t the only reason, he has played a big role in helping the Bengals reach the Super Bowl.
There is no question that defensive ends usually command big contracts in free agency but if they find the right one, it would be money well spent.
Defensive Tackle
One of the key free agents the Buffalo Bills should try to re-sign is defensive tackle Harrison Phillips. He had a great second half of the season and showed he can be the starting defensive tackle alongside Ed Oliver that helps solidify the middle of the defensive line.
If the Bills are not able to re-sign Phillip, this is going to become a really pressing need for this team. In addition to Phillips, the Bills also have Vernon Butler, Justin Zimmer, and Eli Ankou set to be free agents. This means that Oliver and Star Lotulelei are the only defensive tackles under contract with Brandin Bryant joining that group after signing a futures contract.
The Buffalo Bills like to have depth along their defensive line with how frequently they are rotating players so this is one position that they almost certainly will be adding three (or four if they don’t re-sign Harrison Phillips) players this offseason.
Cornerback
Aside from defensive tackle, the cornerback position might be the toughest for the Buffalo Bills to navigate this offseason. The Bills have last year’s starter Levi Wallace set to be a free agent and while he returned on a one-year deal last year, he should have more teams interested in signing him this offseason after a good season.
If the Buffalo Bills don’t re-sign Wallace, they could look to Dane Jackson to replace Levi Wallace. The former seventh round pick started in the second half of the year after Tre’Davious White suffered a season-ending knee injury.
This brings up the second reason why this is one of the toughest positions to address because it remains to be seen when Tre’Davious White will be able to return from his injury. After the season, general manager Brandon Beane talked about this exact situation, and how they address the position will likely be dictated by their confidence level in when White will be able to return.
If it appears like he might need more time, the Bills could look to add more veterans that could step into the starting lineup immediately. However, if White can be ready for training camp then the team may address the position in the NFL Draft.