Stop me if you’ve heard this before: the Buffalo Bills’ defensive line could look a lot different this upcoming season compared to last year.
For essentially Brandon Beane’s tenure as general manager with the team, Buffalo’s defensive line has been in a state of flux. Each offseason, new veterans and rookies have been added to the mix in an attempt to bolster the run defense and pass rush that has frequently struggled to generate appropriate pressure.
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A glance at the depth chart currently reveals more of the same for the Bills. Although they’ll likely spend 20-30% of their defensive snaps with only three traditional down linemen in an odd front, Buffalo is currently looking at multiple mostly or somewhat-unproven starters across the line.
The team’s defensive line rookies of 2025 — Deone Walker and T.J. Sanders — represent two of the three currently projected starters in base defense for the Bills. While Walker flashed during his first season with the team, both are now looking at a systemic shift that could either accelerate or delay their development for the team in their sophomore seasons.
As the key veteran defensive tackle, Ed Oliver’s projection within new defensive coordinator Jim Leonhard’s system shouldn’t be highly in question. There’s enough production to look to from players of a similar build and skillset playing at a high level in 3-4 base systems across the league (Milton Williams for the New England Patriots, Kobie Tuner with the Los Angeles Rams).
But with previous veteran DaQuan Jones unlikely to return and no longer manning the middle, and historic depth piece A.J. Epenesa now with the Cleveland Browns, the Bills are staring at a net loss along the defensive line thus far in the offseason. Defensive tackle Dewayne Carter (2023 third-round seletion) hasn’t shown anything to indicate he can be relied upon as a rotational piece, and he could be on the roster bubble this offseason.
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Former Alabama Crimson Tide member Phidarian Mathis was a practice squad call-up who currently sits as a second-stringer due to lack of other desirable options. Zion Logue and Tommy Akingbesote round out the depth chart on the line, and both could be practice squad candidates in the summer. Selected during the third round of the 2025 NFL Draft, Landon Jackson (denoted on the Bills official roster as a defensive end and not an outside linebacker) played in only three games as a rookie before landing on Injured Reserve.
And that’s it. That’s the entirety of the Bills’ defensive line as it stand right now. A solid veteran lineman in Ed Oliver and a bunch of question marks. Buffalo has made six offseason acquisitions post-NFL Scouting Combine as of the time of this writing. Four of them are on defense (C.J. Gardner-Johnson, Bradley Chubb, Geno Stone, and Dee Alford) and three of those four are in the secondary. With the trade for wide receiver D.J. Moore as the offensive splash move of the offseason, it feels likely that the top of the 2026 NFL Draft for the Bills (now lacking a second round pick) will be devoted to the defensive line.
This has become somewhat of a recent pattern for One Bills Drive. Whatever position group gets ignored in the free-agency stages is then addressed with higher picks come draft time. They did it the year Brandon Beane traded up for cornerback Kaiir Elam. They did it when they drafted defensive end Gregory Rousseau. The hole left behind post-free agency is the hole they attempt to fill in the draft.
It’s important to note that T.J. Sanders could come out and dominate as a 5-tech/4i in the Bills’ base defense after not showing as much promise as the team likely hoped for in his first season. Deone Walker could fit the new defense like a glove. Landon Jackson could be exactly the kind of young lineman who gives you confidence in the depth for the next few years.
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But all of those things I just mentioned are projections based on either non-existent or limited samples. As free agency slows down (with some veterans opting to wait until after the draft to pick their next team to maximize their opportunities at this point) and as we gear up for the NFL Draft, I’ll be keeping an eye on how much hope the Bills will have on their defensive line when the dust settles.
…and that’s the way the cookie crumbles. I’m Bruce Nolan with Buffalo Rumblings. You can find me on Twitter and Instagram @BruceExclusive and look for new episodes of “The Bruce Exclusive” every Thursday on the Rumblings Cast Network — see more in my LinkTree!
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