Pro Football Focus loves that the Buffalo Bills tabbed Tim Settle to work in the middle of their defensive line in 2022.
As the dust settled on the first wave of free agency, the football analytics outlet picked only five signings as ones they considered to be “under the radar and could pay off big.”
Settle’s two-year deal was among them.
Here’s why:
If the Settle signing wasn’t “under the radar” when it was signed, it is after the six-year, $120 million deal Buffalo recently struck with Von Miller.
Settle hasn’t been able to find the field consistently through the first four seasons of his NFL career, but a lot of that has to do with the names in front of him on the depth chart in Washington — Jonathan Allen, Daron Payne and Matt Ioannidis. Settle has impressive flashes as a pass-rusher on his tape for a player coming in at over 325 pounds and has earned PFF pass-rushing grades north of 72.0 in each of the last two seasons.
The Bills should offer more opportunity for Settle to build on that success in a limited role after Harrison Phillips left for Minnesota in free agency. Settle will still have to compete for snaps with Ed Oliver and fellow free agent signings DaQuan Jones and Jordan Phillips, but there is plenty of reason to be excited about his upside in Buffalo at $4.5 million per year.
Settle, still only 24, comes to the Bills for snaps–snaps he will get. Last year in Washington, Settle played in 16 games and only saw 210 total snaps played.
The now departed Phillips, who only played in 14 games in Buffalo last season, played in 474 snaps. That alone is a huge increase for Settle, and his number could surpass that.
Even though Settle will join a rotation along the Bills defensive line, there’s a huge chance he sees more playing time next season.
Plus, PFF’s analysis doesn’t include one big-time name: Von Miller. That changes in the middle plus the All-Pro on the edge could pay huge dividends for Buffalo.
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