Will Bills fans see a different animal in the fourth-year defensive tackle this year?
Ed Oliver will have a great chance of reaching new heights in the Bills defense in 2022 for a multitude of reasons.
Oliver is going into his fourth season in Buffalo, and the Bills recently picked up his fifth-year option for $10.753 million. The team and the fans have been happy with Oliver’s overall play thus far but it seems as if there’s more potential to unlock.
Drafted ninth overall in the 2019 draft out of Houston, Oliver fired out the gates in his rookie year, producing 43 total tackles, 5 sacks, 19 assisted tackles, and 1 forced fumble. These have been his best season-long numbers of his career to this point.
Last season, he put up 41 total tackles, 4 sacks, 12 assisted tackles and 1 forced fumble, while playing just over 57% of the total defensive snaps. He was productive, but Bills fans want to see him make a big leap in the 2022 season to help out the Bills defense and get the Bills a Super Bowl, and I feel he’s ready to make that leap.
One big reason Oliver should have a breakout season in 2022 is due to the fact that the front office has signed and brought in some big-bodied defensive linemen to help Ed out in the trenches. Obviously, bringing in a player of Von Miller’s caliber helps out the defensive line play. Miller is fresh off a Super Bowl win with the Rams where he made a couple clutch plays, and he hopes to bring that mentality to the Bills defensive line.
Von Miller says he wouldn’t have come to Buffalo if he didn’t have rushing buddies. Said he needs a great guy on the inside to help and believes Ed Oliver has that ability.
Oliver paired with Miller is going to be scary for opposing offensive lines that get in their way. And, the Bills now have beef on the line which we have not seen in years past. They added veterans like Tim Settle, DaQuan Jones and Jordan Phillips to play with Oliver on the interior as well. This group should do their job in helping stop teams from running the ball up the middle, which was a weak spot on the Bills team in 2021. The Bills have a lot of young, up-and-coming guys on the d-line, too. Greg Rousseau, Boogie Basham, and A.J. Epenesa will help out by creating pressure on the edge along with Miller, creating more more room for Oliver to operate in the middle and more opportunities for splash plays.
In all three years of Ed Oliver’s young career, he has recorded 117 total tackles, 76 solo tackles, 41 assisted tackles, 12 sacks, 8 passes defended, and 3 forced fumbles.
Oliver is going to have a monster year with all of the key players next to him and should make a very big leap forward in 2022. He will more than likely continue to generate pressure and be able to get to the quarterback in year four and help the defense out in a big way.
