One of the key cogs to the defense needs to continue building consistency in his sixth season
The Buffalo Bills knew they needed to add to their pass rush entering the 2019 NFL Draft. They realized the importance of building that rush from the inside out, as the team was in a division with Tom Brady, whose one ding in his otherwise Hall of Fame-worthy armor was that he hated pressure coming directly from the middle.
Now, the team still needs to find a consistent interior pass rush even with Brady long gone from the AFC East Division. With Patrick Mahomes dominating the league these days, it’s imperative that Buffalo has a strong rush up the middle in order to impact the All-World quarterback as best they can.
That plan hasn’t worked well in crunch time, as the Bills are 0-3 against the Kansas City Chiefs in the playoffs since the 2020 season. However, the player that Buffalo drafted with that 2019 first-round pick has developed into the kind of performer the team needs. Can he continue to build consistency? Can he help the Bills to find that elusive playoff victory over Mahomes and the Chiefs?
In today’s edition of “91 players in 91 days,” we might not be able to answer all of those questions, but we’ll discuss arguably the most dangerous man on the Buffalo Bills’ defensive line.
Ed Oliver
- Number: 91
- Position: DT
- Height/Weight: 6’1”, 287 pounds
- Age: 26 (27 on 12/12/2024)
- Experience/Draft: 6; selected in the first round (No. 9 overall) o the 2019 NFL Draft by Buffalo
- College: Houston
- Acquired: First-round draft choice
Financial situation (per Spotrac): Oliver enters the second year of a four-year, $68 million mega-deal that he signed prior to last season. His cap hit for the 2024 season is the fifth-highest on the team, clocking in at $9.725 million. If Oliver were to be released or traded, the Bills would be on the hook for a dead-cap charge of $34.8 million.
2023 Recap: Oliver had easily the best season of his career in the first year of his new contract extension. Prior to the 2023 season, Oliver’s career highs in sacks (5) and total tackles (43) came in his rookie season. His career high in tackles for loss (10) and quarterback hits (14) came in 2021, with the latter stat being duplicated in 2022, as well.
In 2024, Oliver set career highs in all of those categories, logging 51 tackles, 14 tackles for loss, 16 quarterback hits, and 9.5 sacks. Oliver missed Buffalo’s 29-25 loss to the New England Patriots thanks to a toe injury, and he didn’t produce much over the seven games following his return. He had just 2.5 sacks and three quarterback hits over that time frame. In the final five games of the season, including three playoff games, he totaled three sacks, seven quarterback hits, and four tackles for loss, showing that he was fully back by season’s end.
Positional outlook: Oliver will start at the “three-tech” spot along the defensive line. Rookie DeWayne Carter is expected to be Oliver’s primary backup. DaQuan Jones and Austin Johnson should rotate at the “one-tech.” Eli Ankou, Branson Deen, DeShawn Williams, and Gable Steveson are the other defensive tackles who have been with the team throughout the offseason.
2024 Offseason: Oliver suffered a minor injury scare on the first play of the preseason, as he left the game thanks to a knee injury. He was cleared to return to the game, but did not play out of an abundance of caution. He had three tackles and half a sack on 11 snaps against the Pittsburgh Steelers in his only real preseason action.
2024 Season outlook: Oliver has developed into a monster capable of wrecking a game plan; however, he has yet to show that he can dominate for an entire 17-game season. Too often, he has stretches where he disappears, and then he comes back with some hot streaks before disappearing yet again.
Part of that is likely due to who is playing next to him, as Oliver needs a strong one-tech to eat space—and hopefully some double-teams—in order to free him. However, most teams know that Oliver is the guy who needs to be doubled, and as a smaller defensive tackle, he can be washed out of some plays by teams with better interior offensive lines.
One of those teams is the Chiefs, whose All-Pro center, Creed Humphrey, is among the league’s best. In four regular-season games against Kansas City, Oliver has nine tackles, half a sack, and four quarterback hits. In three playoff games against those Chiefs, he has seven tackles, three tackles for loss, two quarterback hits, and no sacks. If there’s a team that the Bills need Oliver to be dominant against, it’s Kansas City. Unfortunately, he hasn’t been dominant in those games.
What Oliver has done throughout his career, though, is improve. Coming off of his best season, the team certainly would like to see Oliver take that next step towards becoming an elite player, perhaps by making his first Pro Bowl or maybe even earning an All-Pro nod. What would be even better, however, is an onslaught that includes plenty of hits and a strip-sack against Patrick Mahomes in the playoffs to send the Bills to a Super Bowl.