Buffalo Bills defensive end Greg Rousseau has been solid during his tenure in Buffalo. In four years, he has consistently improved and entrenched himself as an integral part of the Bills defensive line.
Last season, Rousseau led the Bills defensive ends in snap percentage, seeing 54.6 percent of the snaps.
The Bills moved on from Leonard Floyd, who led Buffalo with 10.5 sacks last year. In addition, Von Miller is coming off his worst season as a pro, registering only three tackles and no sacks.
Thus, Rousseau will have greater responsibility as he enters his fourth professional season. The Miami product should have more opportunities to play in a variety of situations for Buffalo’s defense in the fall.
With this in mind, the 33rd Team’ sees Rousseau as a defensive player who could break out in the 2024 season.
The analysis highlights that even though Rousseau’s sack total dropped during the past two campaigns, the end has shown improvements in other aspects of his game:
Rousseau was a much better player in 2023 as he created more pressures (68) and improved significantly as a run defender. During the 2022 season, Rousseau was just an average run defender who teams would run toward when possible. But in 2023, he became an above-average run player, finishing the season with 19 stops. His improvement as a run defender has been a steady one despite it being a weakness coming out of college. Now, he is an every-down player who can thrive in any situation.
In addition, Rousseau was on par with some of the league’s best in different metrics. Rousseau’s pass-win rate was 16.0 percent last year, just behind Pittsburgh’s superstar TJ Watt (16.9 percent). Rousseau was slightly ahead of Danielle Hunter (15.7 percent) and Maxx Crosby (15.5) percent. Mosher posits that if Rousseau can improve this number, a double-digit sack season may be on the horizon.
Rousseau enters the season as Buffalo’s No. 1 defensive end. He has a great deal of experience on the field, taking starting snaps early in his career. The 33rd Team sees things turning out well for Rousseau’s development this year:
Rousseau just turned 24 and already has three seasons under his belt with nearly 2,000 snaps played. But going into Year 4, the expectations are even higher. The Bills need Rousseau to be a star on the edge and be a consistent pass rusher in big games. And given his trajectory, it’s not hard to believe that it will happen given his rapid improvement.
Rousseau has started all 46 games he has played in a Buffalo uniform. Over three seasons, he has recorded 129 total tackles, 42 quarterback hits, 17 sacks, three forced fumbles, and an interception.
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