Bills' OTA Spotlight: Battle for the Defensive End Rotation
A.J. Epenesa played too light as a rookie in 2020. This week, Carlos "Boogie" Basham admitted he played too heavy as a rookie in 2021.
Both Buffalo Bills defensive ends now head into this season as part of a spirited battle for the two extra rotational edge-rushing jobs the team will make available for every game behind prized free-agent upgrade Von Miller and last year's first-round draft pick, Greg Rousseau. Some of the losers won't even make the 53-man roster.
That's the reality their youngest pass rushers face heading into a season in which the Bills expect to field arguably their finest roster of the salary cap era.
"I've been focusing on getting my body weight down, especially last year playing around 285," Basham said. "This year, me and [strength and conditioning coach Eric] Ciano talked about getting down in the 270s. I'm in the low 270s right now, so I feel like this will be a big jump from last year to this year."
Basham also sad that was his playing weight at Wake Forest.
Getting his body just right may help Basham. Then again, it may not. Epenesa certainly did not take the leap forward expected of him last season, after going from 245 pounds in 2020 to between 255 and 260 last year.
- RELATED: Much work remains for Bills in OTAs
What Basham, Epenesa and Rousseau are hoping will help are their sessions from Miller's annual Pass Rush Summit, held last Saturday in Las Vegas. Even Miller hoped to improve himself after inviting the league's top pass rushers to brainstorm on the art and science of getting to the quarterback.
"It's called the Von Miller Pass Rush Summit," Miller told the NFL Network. "It's not the Von Miller Teach Clinic. I'm not out here trying to tell guys that I know everything. It's a place that I've created where we can learn and talk football and get better. It's the only place like this for guys like us that's rushing the passer.
"Whether you're inside or outside, it's the only environment where we could get all of these top coaches and all pass rushers and college guys and high school guys here to really work on their craft and get better."
Realistically, the only edge-rushing locks for the Bills' roster in 2022 are Miller, Rousseau and Shaq Lawson, who returned to Buffalo as a free agent this offseason for the one-year bargain price of just over $1 million, according to Over the Cap.
Basham probably makes the team too, but it's not a guarantee. Same for Epenesa.
The Bills likely will only keep five defensive ends. The others competing are Mike Love and Kingsley Jonathan.
Rousseau finished his rookie season with just 4.0 regular-season sacks and none in the playoffs, but that statistic doesn't tell the story of the 6-foot-6, 265-pound giant with an upside that still can't be quantified.
Rousseau ranked first among all NFL edge rushers with 35 stops against the run last season, according to Pro Football Focus. And his 41 total stops were the fourth most by a rookie edge rusher since 2006.
Still, he gets thrown into the same category with Basham and Epenesa as young pass rushers the coaching staff is counting on to make significant strides this season.
"All three are in slightly different positions in their growth cycle," McDermott said. "A.J. is going into Year 3 now, and Boogie and Greg going into Year 2, and we have other guys there as well. So this is going to be a big offseason for those guys. I mean, they're in a position where they have to — we need them to really grow and develop and make a mark on our defense, and not just in a supporting role but in a primary role."
Should make for an interesting training camp.
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Nick Fierro is the publisher of Bills Central. Check out the latest Bills news at www.si.com/nfl/bills and follow Fierro on Twitter at @NickFierro. Email to Nicky300@aol.com.
