Tag: Greg Rousseau

PFF: Bills’ Greg Rousseau has NFL’s highest QB pressure rate

PFF (@pff_bills): #Bills’ Greg Rousseau has NFL’s highest QB pressure rate (via @Stereorush):

The Buffalo Bills worked to build depth in their defensive end group to improve their pass rush and pocket pressure this past offseason

It’s gone so well that they are getting trade inquiry calls from teams around the league on players from their defensive end group

One reason why is the immediate impact and steady play this preseason of 2021 first-round pick Greg Rousseau. The Bills took the 21-year-old edge rusher with the 30th overall selection in the first round of this year’s NFL Draft.

And so far, that pick is paying off even sooner than expected.

In fact, according to Pro Football Focus Rousseau has had the highest percentage of any NFL player in applying pocket pressure to opposing QB’s this preseason:

The rookie defensive end’s play is opening eyes and turning heads among the media and NFL alike.

While his immediate productivity may come as a surprise to some, PFF actually predicted during their 2021 predraft analysis that the hype surrounding Rousseau would be warranted.

Considering he was second to only Chase Young in major stat categories during his final NCAA season with the University of Miami, Rousseau has the potential to progress towards becoming a starter in the NFL.

If he continues to play with this level of consistent productivity, regular season playing time in his position group rotation may come sooner than later.

That regular playing time could allow him to take those next steps towards achieving similar success at the pro level as well, which is something that Bills coaches, fans, and veterans like Bruce Smith and Andre Reed, would love to see.

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5 takeaways from the Bills’ 41-15 preseason win over the Bears

5 takeaways from the #Bills’ 41-15 preseason win over the #Bears:

The Buffalo Bills’ exhibition season continued on Saturday and they topped the Chicago Bears, 41-15, in their second preseason outing.

Here are five takeaways from the game:

Bills at Bears: 7 things to watch for in preseason Week 2

#Bills at $Bears: 7 things to watch for in preseason Week 2:

After a few weeks of training camp practices and one preseason game, the Buffalo Bills will take the field again in another exhibition contest, this time against the Chicago Bears.

Heading into the matchup, here are seven things to watch for:

What Greg Rousseau, Sean McDermott said about first sack in preseason win

What Greg Rousseau, Sean McDermott said about first sack in #Bills preseason win vs. the #Lions:

The Buffalo Bills beat the Detroit Lions 16-15 in a late-game comeback Friday in the Motor City.

One of the big stories of the game was the pocket pressure that came by way of Buffalo’s defensive end group throughout the contest.

The team made headlines this year using their first and second-round picks in the 2021 NFL Draft to select players at the same position, defensive ends Gregory Rousseau and Boogie Basham.

This, only a year after using their highest selection in the 2020 draft to take edge rusher A.J. Epenesa.

These young players on the Bills defense are looking to impact games for a chance at more time in their position group rotation in the regular season.

And on Friday’s first live game competition, they did just that.

The 30th overall pick in 2021, Rousseau had 11 pass rushes, including three pressures, and a sack. That sack came early in the first quarter against none other than the seventh overall pick from the same draft class, Penei Sewell, who Rousseau powered his way around to push Lions QB Jared Goff to the ground.

After the game, the rookie who sat out last season at Miami was asked about the play.

“I just got off the ball, made sure I worked my hands, I think I did like a little stutter bull, and I saw Jared Goff and I tried to reach out and get him,” Rousseau said while addressing the media. “It was really great to be back out there, it was a lot of fun, the D-line we’re really tight, we live for things like that, the whole team does.”

The pressure created by Rousseau and Epenesa on the corners in closing and collapsing the pocket could be a preview of things to come, and the rookie knows it took the whole defense to get to the QB.

“It was a great feeling to get my first sack, and to be able to get back there,” Rousseau added. “But really it’s a testament to the whole defense, the secondary holding up in coverage, the other three D-lineman rushing their butts off, so really even though if I got the sack or whoever got the sack, it’s really a team effort and I’m glad we got him done.”

Rousseau wasn’t the only one happy with the results of his first game as a Bill, as head coach Sean McDermott shared his thoughts on the play.

“That’s what we want to see,” said McDermott during his media session. “We want to improve our pass rush, we were very intentional about that this offseason, so it’s good to see in particular against a guy that was picked high like Penei.”

The Bills defensive contributions didn’t stop there, 61st overall pick, Basham had a productive day as well.

While outsized at times, he was unrelenting in pressuring Detroit’s offense. It paid off in the third quarter when he combined with DE Darryl Johnson for a sack.

Free-agent addition Efe Obada joined him in making their presence felt. He played the inside and outside, and broke up a running play in the middle on fourth down.

While both players were each called during the game for roughing the passer penalties, they were part of the consistent effort that gave the Lions’ offense headaches.

The two lined up inside during the final minutes of the game with Epenesa and Rousseau on the edges, hinting at packages opposing offenses might see this season with their added versatility, size, and strength.

If this first preseason gameplay is any indication, early returns on the Bills’ DE group appear favorable. 

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5 takeaways from the Bills’ 16-15 preseason win vs. the Lions

5 takeaways from the #Bills’ 16-15 preseason win vs. the #Lions:

The Buffalo Bills won their preseason opener against the Detroit Lions on Friday, 16-15.

As it usually is with the preseason, the final score does not matter much at all, it’s all about reading between the lines.

With that, here are five Bills takeaways from the first exhibition game of 2021:

3 observations from Day 2 of Bills minicamp

Observations from Day 2 of Buffalo Bills minicamp.

The Bills have wrapped up minicamp early. Late Wednesday, the team announced that it canceled the final day of their typical third days of workouts slated for Thursday.

In what will now go down as the last day of the team’s workouts until training camp, here are three reported observations from Day 2 of Bills camp on Wednesday:

Bills DE Greg Rousseau’s odds to win Defensive Rookie of the Year

Buffalo Bills DE Greg Rousseau’s rookie of the year odds in 2021.

Bills first-round pick Greg Rousseau was given some middle-of-the-road odds to win the 2021 Defensive Rookie of the Year Award.

According to Vegas Insider, Rousseau sits at +1600 to take home the award in 2021. That means a $100 wager on Rousseau to win returns a profit of $1,600. Some second-round picks were given odds to win, too, but Buffalo’s Round 2 selection, Carlos Basham Jr., was not among them.

Rousseau’s figure was the ninth-best handed out.

Here’s a quick rundown of the list of early odds:

  • Micah Parsons: +400
  • Jaelan Phillips: +700
  • Jamin Davis: +900
  • Kwity Paye: +1000
  • Zaven Collins: +1100
  • Patrick Surtain II: +1200
  • Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah: +1400
  • Jaycee Horn: +1500
  • Gregory Rousseau: +1600
  • Greg Newsome II: +2000
  • Azeez Ojulari: +2000
  • Jayson Oweh: +2000
  • Caleb Farley: +2500
  • Trevon Moehrig: +2500
  • Asante Samuel Jr.: +2500
  • Eric Stokes: +2500
  • Joe Tryon: +2500

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WATCH: Highlight reel for Bills’ first-round pick Greg Rousseau

Buffalo Bills DE Greg Rousseau highlight reel.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yHaafVQoMO4

The Bills projected forward and dipped into the “boom-or-bust” pool of the 2021 NFL draft in Round 1. Buffalo tabbed Greg Rousseau of Miami as their top-overall pick at No. 30 overall.

What did the Bills like in Rousseau’s game? Have a look for yourself. Check out the 2019 highlight reel for Rousseau’s season via the ACC Network above.

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Bills GM Brandon Beane explains drafting back-to-back pass rushers

What Buffalo Bills general manager Brandon Beane said about Carolos Basham Jr., Greg Rousseau and 2021 NFL draft.

It’s commonplace for the question of “why?” to occur after a day at the NFL draft.

The Bills took that to a whole new level on Friday.

On Day 2 of the 2021 NFL draft, the Bills selected Wake Forest defensive end Carlos Basham Jr. A touted pass rusher.

That sentence alone makes sense.

Putting it in context: The Bills drafted the same position with another pick, too. Their first rounder in Miami’s Greg Rousseau.

So… why?

Buffalo general manager Brandon Beane is never one to get too insightful. He tells it like it is, or at least he does more than head coach Sean McDermott.

On why that decision? The answer was almost, “why not?”

“Prior to the draft, we just try to set us up to take the best player available on out board and that’s what we’ve done. Obviously we took Rousseau last night not anticipating taking another pass rusher, but Carlos was the best player on our board,” Beane said via video conference. “And again, you can never have enough pass rushers. We thought the value was too good to pass up.”

In light of Beane’s thoughts, it really makes you believe he thinks actions speak louder than words.

Rousseau comes to Buffalo having his last season in 2019. That year he put up 19.5 tackles for loss and 15.5 sacks in 13 games. Basham did play last season, but he missed time due to COVID-19. He still had five sacks in six games, but in 2019, he appeared in 13 games and wracked up 18 tackles for loss and 10 sacks.

Can’t have enough pass rushers indeed, Brandon.

Already on the surface, it’s clear the Bills bring these two rookies into a room that’s in-flux now. Having your top-two picks as the same position will do that, let alone factoring in AJ Epenesa, the team’s top pick last year, Efe Obada, a free-agent signee this offseason, and we still have returning veterans Jerry Hughes, Mario Addison and Darryl Johnson.

Finding playing time at that position is going to be a challenge for anyone. Basham already said he’s looking forward to that.

“I love competing, so with those guys right there, there’s definitely going to be a lot of competition,” Basham said, referencing Rousseau and Epensea.

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Bills announce Greg Rousseau’s number

Buffalo Bills DE Greg Rousseau to wear No. 50.

The newest member of the Buffalo Bills for at least the next couple of hours will wear…

…

No. 50.

That, of course, is first-round pick from the 2021 NFL draft, Greg Rousseau/

The team released this video, the first look at Rousseau’s name and number on a Bills uniform:

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