When the Buffalo Bills drafted defensive tackle Ed Oliver back in 2019, some people were saying that he was the next coming of Aaron Donald. That was a huge stretch considering the player that Donald was with the Rams throughout his career. Now granted, Oliver and Donald had similar size so maybe there was a chance. However, we have yet to see a consistent disruptive Ed Oliver (atleast against the run).
Oliver was up-and-down in his first four years with the Bills. But the front office felt differently about him for the better as he received four-year $68 million deal prior to the 2023 season. It was a major head-scratching move that a lot of Bills fans questioned. However, Oliver had his breakout season in 2023 finishing with career-highs in total tackles (51), sacks (9.5), and QB hits (16).
Going into 2024, there was a lot of hope that Oliver could take the next step in his production but instead, all we got was a major drop in production that also included missing games due to injuries. One of Buffalo’s greatest weaknesses from last season was stopping the run and you can make the case that Oliver’s inability to help stop the run played a factor.
PFF DT rankings shows why Bills were smart to bulk up defense for 2025
This offseason was all about building up the defense for the Bills. Brandon Beane knew what he wanted to do and he delivered a free agency and draft class that can hopefully stop opponents and keep pressure off of Josh Allen to have to put on the Superman cape.
Trevor Sikkema from Pro Football Focus (PFF) ranked the top-32 defensive tackles heading into 2025 and Sikkema has Oliver at No. 19 overall. Here’s what Sikkema said about Oliver:
"Oliver continued to win as a pass rusher on his way to a 78.6 PFF pass-rush grade in 2024, but the smaller-sized interior player once again struggled in run defense (50.4) and tackling (31.4). It was his second year in a row of a career-high PFF pass-rush grade but near career-low PFF grades in run defense and tackling."
Trevor Sikkema, PFF
No one can deny that Oliver can get inside the pocket and create pressure against a quarterback. Now, it is safe to say that his ability to stop the run is a major concern. However, the Bills brought Oliver in to create interior pressure against the pass. They haven’t exactly done a great job at building up a solid run-defense. Well, that’s what Beane did in free agency and the draft.
First, the Bills signed Larry Ogunjobi who can help create pressure against the run (but will more than likely miss the first six games for violating the league’s PED policy). Then during the draft, he traded up not once but twice for DTs T.J. Sanders and Deone Walker. In addition, he also got a major steal in DE Landon Jackson who is a Von Miller-like player in terms of being able to bend his way around a blocker to make a play in the backfield.
Buffalo needed to bulk up the defense line and bring in true run-stoppers. Even though DaQuan Jones has been solid throughout his tenure with the Bills, he’s heading into a contract year and has a lost a step to his game. The Bills got younger upfront and can now develop a solid true run-stopping defense which will allow Oliver to do what he does best and get to the quarterback.
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