Bleacher Report pegged Buffalo Bills defensive tackle Ed Oliver as the team’s potential breakout star for next season.
Oliver had a down then up rookie season, losing his starting role early in the year to Jordan Phillips before getting more snaps back. Could B/R be right that his second season will be more profitable for the Bills?
Here’s how B/R explains the selection:
Buffalo Bills defensive tackle Ed Oliver had quite the rookie season in 2019. The ninth overall pick in last year’s draft started all 16 games and finished with 43 tackles, five sacks and two passes defended. These are strong numbers for an interior defensive lineman, and especially for a rookie.
Oliver can be even more productive in his second year, with experience and growth being key factors. As an interior pass-rusher, he should benefit from what could be an improved Bills offense too.
Presumably, Buffalo will look to upgrade the weapons it has around quarterback Josh Allen. Allen will be another year experienced as well. This should allow the Bills to score more than the 19.6 points they averaged in 2019, forcing opponents to rely a bit more on the pass.
More passing by the opposition will mean more pass-rushing opportunities for Oliver, who could make a significant jump in sack production. It wouldn’t be a shock to see Oliver rack up double-digit sacks in 2020.
Along with losing snaps early in the year, Oliver didn’t record his first sack until Week 11. That is, unless you count sacking a “wide receiver” against the Dolphins as a QB sack like the NFL did prior to that.
But between Weeks 11 and 13, Oliver had four total sacks, including two in primetime against the Cowboys on Thanksgiving. With improved play down the stretch run of the season, there’s reason to believe Oliver will have an even better Year 2.
But another reason why is potentially out of Oliver’s hands. Phillips cut into his snaps at certain points of the year. Buffalo head coach Sean McDermott likes to run a rotation along his defensive line to keep guys fresh during games, however, there are usually “starters” seeing the bigger half of a 65-35 percentage split on snaps played in the trenches. If Phillips walks during free agency, it’s an easy bet that Oliver will be on the bigger side of snap totals in 2020 as a former first-round pick.
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