Last year, the Buffalo Bills used their first two picks in the 2020 NFL Draft at defensive end by selecting Greg Rousseau in the first round and then Boogie Basham in the very next round. At the time, the thought was that Rousseau was a player that had great physical tools but need some time to develop.
Meanwhile, Basham was someone that could contribute right away as a rookie due to being the more experienced player at Wake Forest with 42 career games.
However, that is not how the season played out last year as Rousseau earned a starting job right from the start, starting every game last year, while Basham had trouble regularly getting on the field. He would appear in only eight regular season games and be inactive for six of the first eight weeks of the season.
Buffalo Bills like what they have seen from Boogie Basham this offseason
Fast forward to this offseason, and the Bills would make significant moves at the position with the big free agent splash of signing Von Miller but also bringing back former first round pick Shaq Lawson. This would logically raise questions about where Basham might fit and if the team has some concerns about the player.
That doesn’t appear to be the case and Matt Lombardo with FanSided tweeted that in fact the team is optimistic about the former second round pick. He has remained in Buffalo to train all offseason and should see “an expanded role this season”.
There’s a ton of optimism around #Bills DL Boogie Basham this spring. Basham balled out in the postseason, producing six tackles and a sack, and should see an expanded role this season after getting his weight under control and training all offseason in Buffalo. #BillsMafia #NFL
— Matt Lombardo 🏈 (@MattLombardoNFL) May 11, 2022
As Lombardo notes, Basham did play well during the playoffs with six total tackles and a sack, which came against the New England Patriots. He played at least 25% of the defensive snaps in each game.
The defensive end position is certainly going to look different this year as Jerry Hughes, who played nearly a decade with the Buffalo Bills, reportedly recently signed with the Houston Texans. He would be joining Mario Addison, who played the past two seasons in Buffalo, and also signed with the Texans.
While Von Miller will factor heavily into the rotation, there is still an opportunity for Boogie Basham to create a bigger role on this defense this coming season. Based on Matt Lombardo’s reporting, it sounds like he is off to a great start to making that a reality.