Most Valuable Bills of 2021: Gregory Rousseau Projects at No. 20

The rookie defensive end flashed too strongly in the offseason program to be kept out of the rotation completely.

Here at Bills Central, we're not looking at a redshirt season for first-round draft pick Gregory Rousseau. We see the ability to contribute right away, unlike analyst NFL Chris Simms, who threw some serious shade on the Bills' 2021 draft by naming Rousseau and second-round pick Carlos Basham among the five potential misses in this year's NFL Draft.

The list was part of NBC's Football Morning in America Column, guest-written by Michael Holley while Peter King is on vacation.

So we're projecting the 6-foot-6, 260-pound defensive end to be the 20th Most Valuable Bill of 2021 in our day-to-day unveiling of the list leading up to training camp.

Yes, Rousseau was a surprise pick at No. 30. No, we're not seeing that as being a poor choice.

More importantly, we're not hearing it from the men who will decide if and how he will play.

"He's in here early, he stays late," coach Sean McDermott said. "It’s important to him. He’s developing a good foundation of habits, which is important. He really embraces that growth mindset in terms of wanting to learn something new every day, wanting to be the best and putting in the time to become the best at what he does."

When Rousseau is not on the premises, he works at times with a seriously accomplished fellow Miami product: Calais Campbell of the Baltimore Ravens.

On and off the field, Greg Rousseau, the #Bills' first-round pick, is receiving support from #Ravens pass-rusher Calais Campbell. https://t.co/eQSYh0OKxY #BillsMafia

— Buffalo Bills News (@billsupdates) June 29, 2021

"You like the length," defensive coordinator Leslie Frazier said, "but you also like the coachability. "... I mean when he hears something, he's one of those guys who can put it into action like right away. He's able to process the information, take it to the grass and then be able to complete what you're asking him to do. And there aren't a lot of guys, even at our level, that can get that done. It takes repetition for some. Greg's not one of those guys. Once you show him or tell him what you're looking for, then he's able to go out and execute that.

"I think he has the ability to be a really good edge rusher more so because of his length and his feel for the game. He's a guy who when we watched him on tape and even now watching him in person, he just has a knack -- and there are some guys like that and they have a knack for finding their way to the quarterback and being able to slip off of blocks and just have the instincts on the field for doing it -- and I think he's one of those guys and I think his length is going to give people trouble."

Rousseau is driven by the time he missed after making the decision to opt out of the 2020 season at the University of Miami due to COVID-19 concerns. That means he comes to the NFL after essentially playing just one season of college ball, in 2019.

But what a season it was: 15.5 sacks, 19.5 of 54 total tackles coming behind the line of scimmage and two forced fumbles.

Even though the Bills may have the luxury of being able to keep from rushing Rousseau's development, they won't hesitate to use him if he's ready.

Rousseau can and likely will crack a rotation in which A.J. Epenesa, Jerry Hughes, Mario Addison, Efe Obada, Darryl Johnson, Mike Love and Basham will be in the mix for as well.

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.