The Buffalo Bills last offseason almost completely overhauled their defensive tackle position with the only player returning from the prior year being Ed Oliver. Entering this offseason, the Bills once again could find themselves in a similar situation as Jordan Phillips is set to be a free agent, Tim Settle appears to be a cut candidate and the team doesn’t have a player under contract past the 2023 season.
This offseason, the Buffalo Bills are going to be limited on what they can do in free agency because of their cap space and Jordan Phillips is one player they should look to bring back, even with his injury history. However, this could still result them in exploring options in free agency and these are four defensive tackles that could be targets for the Buffalo Bills that likely won’t command a big contract and could improve the position.
4 realistic free agent defensive tackles the Buffalo Bills could target in 2023
Johnathan Hankins
DaQuan Jones had an excellent season for the Buffalo Bills and was a big reason for their improvement against the run. However, the Bills could look to add another run-stuffing defensive tackle to rotate with Jones and a veteran like Johnathan Hankins could be the perfect player.
Hankins was a second round pick by the New York Giants in 2013 and has played for a number of teams over his 11-year career. This past season, he began the year with the Las Vegas Raiders before being traded right before the deadline to the Dallas Cowboys.
Hankins is a big defensive tackle at 6’3″ and 340 pounds that does the things that often don’t end in the box score but makes the defense better, similar to Jones. If the Bills can split the snaps between Jones and Hankins, it can keep both players fresh and help the defense as a whole.