Changes coming to the defense?
The Buffalo Bills over the years has primarily been a zone defense that uses the nickel formation however some of the selections this year could be signalling a shift for the defense.
In the first round, the Buffalo Bills drafted Kaiir Elam who can play zone but his strength may be more as a press man cornerback. He can now be paired with Tre’Davious White, who has had success in man coverage in the NFL, and the Buffalo Bills can switch between zone and man coverage without having to change their personnel on the field.
The ability to change that coverage seemingly on any given play, is going to be maddening for opposing quarterbacks trying to figure out the Bills’ defense.
In addition, the Bills also drafted linebacker Terrel Bernard who is a smaller linebacker but has great quickness and agility. He is a player in the similar mold to Matt Milano and this could be a signal that the defense may play more snaps in a 4-3 formation.
This would give Buffalo a little more size to match up against power run teams but not give up much in terms of coverage as Milano and Bernard are capable of staying with tight ends and running backs in coverage.
Similar to the offensive side of the ball, the Buffalo Bills defense got much more versatile with the picks made in the 2022 NFL Draft.