The 2023 NFL Draft was completed last week and the Buffalo Bills turned their focus back to free agents still available. On Monday, the team signed running back Latavius Murray and followed it up on Tuesday by adding defensive tackle Poona Ford.
The defensive tackle position was one of the positions that general manager Brandon Beane mentioned after the NFL Draft that the team would look to address. The Bills don't have any players under contract past this season and wanted to add some more depth entering the season.
At this point of the offseason, it is not easy to find impactful free agents but the Buffalo Bills may have done just that with the addition of Poona Ford. These are four reasons to love this signing for the defense.
Reason #1: Perfect player to complement DaQuan Jones and Ed Oliver
The Buffalo Bills brought back all four primary defensive tackles from last year's team with Tim Settle restructuring his contract and the team agreeing to a one-year deal with Jordan Phillips. These two join DaQuan Jones and Ed Oliver, who were primarily the starters last season.
The addition of Poona Ford though gives the defense more balance at the position and allows players to be in the roles that they play the best in. During his time in Buffalo, Ed Oliver has been asked to play a lot of one-tech, which he can do but he is much better when he can utilize his quickness and penetrate through the lines.
Poona Ford is an excellent run defender and is more of a one-tech so this should free up snaps for Oliver to focus primarily on rushing the quarterback and getting through the offensive line. This should also help manage the workload of Jones, who did an excellent job for the Bills but did deal with injuries toward the end of the season. If Jones is forced to miss time again this year, they have a great replacement in Ford to step in.