The Bills fortified up and down their defensive line during free agency, and yet, Bleacher Report sees some more space for improvement.
Releasing their updated “biggest need” for each NFL team after the start of league year and free agency, B/R says the Bills need to continue adding to their edge defender/ defensive end position:
The Buffalo Bills addressed their biggest need by acquiring standout receiver Stefon Diggs from the Minnesota Vikings. The trade was costly—Buffalo surrendered first-, fifth- and sixth-round picks in 2020, plus a 2021 fourth-rounder—but it gives Josh Allen a reliable No. 1 receiver for the foreseeable future.
What the Bills still lack is a reliable pass-rusher who will be around for the foreseeable future. They signed Mario Addison in free agency. He and Jerry Hughes should form a solid duo in 2020, but their shelf life is limited.
Hughes will turn 32 in August. Addison will turn 33 a month later.
This isn’t an immediate need for Buffalo, which posted 44 sacks as a team in 2019. Looking long-term, though, the Bills need a sack artist who can develop alongside offensive centerpiece Allen.
Credit where credit is due, Buffalo general manager Brandon Beane has assembled a roster that already doesn’t have any glaring needs it. Among some of those smaller needs would be a complementary running back or tight end, perhaps another receiver, or a younger cornerback. But defensive end certainly is at, or near, the top of the list, as Bleacher Report states.
Along with Hughes and Addison, there’s Trent Murphy, who is 29 and has also underwhelmed in his Bills career thus far. But there’s good news, while Buffalo does not hold a first-round pick anymore at the 2020 NFL Draft, there’s a second rounder still kicking around. At the No. 54 overall selection, the Bills will certainly have a chance to find a developmental pass rusher to place behind the likes of their top trio.
It’s a good bet that at some point of the upcoming draft, the Bills add another defensive end. Exactly where remains to be seen.
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