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The Buffalo Bills made a big investment in their pass rush in 2021, using their top two draft picks on edge rushers.
While second-round pick Boogie Basham struggled to find his footing and was ultimately traded before the start last season, the team’s top pick that year, Greg Rousseau, has shown steady signs of improvement and could be on track to be a “star” in 2024.
Marcus Mosher of The 33rd Team named Rousseau as one of the league’s top breakout candidates for the coming season, noting that he took a big step forward in 2023 and appears poised for another one.
“Rousseau just turned 24 and already has three seasons under his belt with nearly 2,000 snaps played,” Mosher wrote. “But going into Year 4, the expectations are even higher. The Bills need Rousseau to be a star on the edge and be a consistent pass rusher in big games. And given his trajectory, it’s not hard to believe that it will happen given his rapid improvement.”
Greg Rousseau Coming Off ‘Best Year of His Career’
Rousseau’s stat line for the 2023 season does not tell the full story of his impact, Mosher wrote. The defensive end started 16 games and showed “noticeable” improvement even though his sack total dropped to 5.0 from 8.0 the previous season, Mosher noted.
“However, Rousseau was a much better player in 2023 as he created more pressures (68) and improved significantly as a run defender,” Mosher wrote. “During the 2022 season, Rousseau was just an average run defender who teams would run toward when possible. But in 2023, he became an above-average run player, finishing the season with 19 stops. His improvement as a run defender has been a steady one despite it being a weakness coming out of college. Now, he is an every-down player who can thrive in any situation.”
A deeper dig into Rousseau’s stats does a better job showing his impact, Mosher added. He had a pass-rush win rate of 16.0%, which was ahead of Maxx Crosby (15.5%) and Danielle Hunter (15.7%) and just behind T.J. Watt (16.9%), Mosher wrote.
“If that number continues to rise, we should see Rousseau post a double-digit sack season sooner rather than later. He’s managed to improve greatly as a pass rusher over the last few years and just needs to take another step to be a consistent star off the edge,” he wrote.
Bills Looking for Von Miller’s Return
While Rousseau could take on a bigger role in the coming season, the Bills are also looking for a bounce-back from veteran Von Miller after a career-worst season. Miller returned early from a torn ACL last season but struggled to make an impact on the field, registering no sacks in 12 games.
Miller said in a recent interview that he rushed his return and should have stayed out longer.
“It’s crazy how you get injured, and you come back, and you really shouldn’t have even been playing, and people judge you by a product on the field,” Miller told Pat Benson of SI.com. “I could have easily sat out all of last season, but I couldn’t do my teammates like that. I felt like being later in my career, I didn’t want to sacrifice any of my years. But at the same time, I shouldn’t have been out there.”
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