The mentioning of a Penn State pass rusher might cause pause in Bills fans… but if such a scenario unfolds, it’s only fair to give a guy a shot.
Plus, the Bills could use an addition to that position at the 2021 NFL Draft, so there’s no reason to leave a stone unturned.
Pro Football Focus recently released their latest 2021 mock and in it, Penn State’s Jayson Oweh is slotted to the Bills at No. 30 overall selection. Naturally some Buffalo fans still have some PTSD from Aaron Maybin, a Penn State pass rusher, being selected by the Bills… but that’s long in the past now, folks.
On Oweh, here’s PFF’s logic behind the pick:
The Bills added A.J. Epenesa in the second round of last year’s draft, but their best pass-rusher — Jerry Hughes — will be 33 years old next season and on the last year of his contract. Across from him, Mario Addison is also pushing into his 30s. Oweh would add some much-needed youth to the position.
You aren’t a two-time member of Bruce Feldman’s Freaks List without having some serious athletic ability, and Oweh certainly has that. He can beat tackles around the edge with his get-off, and he was much improved against the run this past season at Penn State, posting an 89.7 run-defense grade.
Oweh could certainly be on the Bills’ radar. Not just because of the ages of Hughes and Addison, but because of the upcoming 2021 salary cap.
Due to COVID-19, the salary cap is going to drop. Latest reports suggest somewhere around $180-185 million. In 2020, it was at $198.2M.
Buffalo currently sits right around the area of the speculated spot the cap might fall, so regardless of exactly how much the Bills might be over or under it, general manager Brandon Beane has moves he needs to make to find cap space to make future moves and re-sign free agents.
In doing so, the defensive line could be such an area as guys like Hughes, Quinton Jefferson, Addison and Vernon Butler could all give the Bills several million in additional cap space if cut.
Hughes was recently touted by PFF as a top-five pass rusher in 2020, so he might be off the team’s chopping block, but plenty of others might be on it and a youthful prospect such as Oweh could slide into the lineup in 2021.
Plus on top of the finances, the Bills should look to get some fresh blood in their pass rush. This past season, it was not an elite crew.
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