NFL
By: Randall Slifer
Brandon Beane went to the draft with a specific strategy heading into this draft. Beane went on the podium and talked about each pick being the “best player available”, but it seems too methodical to believe that entirely while watching the NFL draft throughout the weekend. There are certain points where “best player available” does make sense, as there was a ton of value on players that mistakenly dropped. The Buffalo Bills’ trade-up for T.J. Sanders is where I question the “only best player available” philosophy. There is a discrepancy where T.J. Sanders could have gone, but Beane did jump up in front of a team that immediately took a similar position. The question remains whether the whole National Football League saw T.J. Sanders as an early second-round pick, or if it was just a few teams that loved T.J. Sanders. It was clear that Brandon Beane looked at last year and understood that the defense needed a much bigger facelift than the offense. Including the playoffs, Buffalo scored the most points in the entire league. On defense, Buffalo ranked in the bottom third in yards allowed per game and middle of the pack in rushing yards allowed per game. Buffalo was horrendous in getting off the field on 3rd downs and relied heavily on turnovers all while reaching the AFC Championship game. Brandon Beane took a page from some other general managers and put his style on it for an attempt to do what we do on offense; now on defense.
The Buffalo Bills drafted nine prospects overall in the NFL Draft. Six of those nine prospects were on the defensive side. Brandon Beane attacked the defensive line with the first four picks. Buffalo only managed to account for 6 sacks coming through the interior of the offensive line, which ranked in the bottom third of the National Football League. Beane talked constantly about getting interior pressure while bolstering the defensive line. In 2024, our starting defensive line was above average with Von Miller, Greg Rousseau, Ed Oliver, and Daquan Jones. Behind the starting line, were players along the lines of Casey Toohill, Dawuane Smoot, Jordan Phillips, Austin Johnson, and many mediocre players. In the off-season and the draft, Brandon Beane changed the whole depth of the draft with all players competing to make impactful plays. Beane stated, “Athletic ability, speed, power, all those things you are looking for (we got).” T.J. Sanders and Landon Jackson scored above 8.50 on their relative athletic score. Deone Walker is in the 90th percentile in height, weight, arm length, and hand size. He would have tested above an 8.50 if he was not dealing with a back injury. Our defensive backs were struggling with depth when we lost Christian Benford early in the AFC Championship game to a concussion. Kaiir Elam came in and did not play well and defensive backs were a glaring reason Buffalo lost that game and struggled throughout the season. Max Hairston and Jordan Hancock tested above 9.50 on their relative athletic scoring and will contribute to the defensive backs immediately. Our depth in the defensive back room is much stronger than it was back in 2024.
Beane’s defensive strategy comes with depth; not a game-wrecking individual on one side of the offense or defense (except of course, Josh Allen). The offense runs with the motto, “Everybody Eats”, and that may be rolling over to the defense as well this year. Beane stated that having a defensive line that is versatile, young, and deep is an important part of the process. While Buffalo’s opposing offensive line is in the game for 100% of the snaps, Bills’ defensive line will come at their line fresh till the very last snap. When you have someone like T.J. Sanders behind Ed Oliver, that guard will not have a dip in athleticism and will need to give 100% of his effort every single play. Greg Rousseau and Landon Jackson have very similar builds in height, weight, arm length, and athletic testing. In fact, Landon Jackson tested better athletically than Greg Rousseau. The opposing Right Tackle will be faced with a bludgeoning when you rotate enormous edge rushers one after the other without a break during the game. Beane also picked up a lot of players with a lot of versatility that can disguise blitzes, and for all players to line up in multiple spots throughout the game to confuse the quarterbacks’ pre-snap reads and the offensive line deciding on where to slide protection or understand who may drop back into coverage. Michael Hoecht is a 310-pound defensive tackle who also drops back in coverage. Deone Walker is a 340-pound 1-tech that has twitch and pass-rush ability where you can move him to edge rusher for a couple of snaps. Beane built a defensive front seven from a player personnel strategy that is a Venn diagram that will be difficult to figure out.
The Buffalo Bills built this defensive strategy, but there is no guarantee it will work. Beane did make the right call when attacking this draft. The constant talk was that this draft is a depth draft and all teams had no more than sixteen first-round grades this year. How was Buffalo supposed to get a game wrecker when all the game wreckers in the off-season stayed with their current teams and our first pick was very late in the first round? Sure, we could have mortgaged the future and got a blue-chip player, but Beane enjoys sustained success and that would not fit his profile. Buffalo’s strategy on offense has now rolled into their defensive line, and it will be exciting to watch. Buffalo has built one of the most culturally sound teams in the NFL, and the offense being selfless through the season was one of the most endearing things to watch through interviews during the season. This philosophy has now moved to the defensive line, and there are some high-character players on the defensive side that I cannot wait to hear a similar mantra. The Super Bowl is predicated on hard work, trusting the process, and a little bit of luck. The Buffalo Bills had the 3rd highest odds to win the Super Bowl before the draft, and they remain 3rd after the draft. Buffalo; let’s get to work.
How do you think the Buffalo Bills did in the draft, and do you believe this philosophy will work? Reach out to me on Twitter/BlueSky @RandallSlifer or comment here below! Go Bills!
