Orchard Park, N.Y. — When the Buffalo Bills selected defensive tackle Ed Oliver with the 9th overall pick in the 2019 NFL Draft, they wanted him to become a force up the middle.
After his first two seasons, Oliver’s managed just 8 sacks and dropped from 5 in his rookie year to only 3 a season ago.
Bills defensive coordinator Leslie Frazier thinks Oliver’s production is about to spike. When asked for a breakout candidate on his defense this week ahead of the opener against the Pittsburgh Steelers on Sunday, Frazier spoke about Oliver’s potential to finally reach his potential.
“He has a chance to really open some eyes around the league this season,” Frazier said this week. “Looking forward to him having a bust-out season, and that will be really good for our defense. He’s been consistently good, but there’s a chance he can go to another level and this would be an ideal year for that to happen.”
The Bills have the third-best odds to win the Super Bowl at 11/1, per Betonline.AG. Now that the Super Bowl window has been cracked open, Oliver is one of the players that could elevate the Bills defense. After finishing 2nd in total defense in 2019, the Bills fell to the middle of the pack last year. Frazier’s defense ranked 16th in total defense and 12th in total sacks (44).
Part of the problem for Oliver has been how the Bills have used him at times, especially in 2020 with one technique Star Lotulelei at home after opting out because of Covid-19. Oliver had to play more over the center and wasn’t able to generate as much pressure as a pass rusher. Now that Lotulelei is back and the Bills are expected to get more off the edge with rookie Greg Rousseau now a part of the rotation, Oliver should be able to play more at three technique and try to cause disruption.
Frazier said that Oliver has matured as a player since last season and it’s showed in practice.
“You can see his growth, we’re all watching his maturation, it’s been a process and it’s been really good,” he said. “You can see him really ascending as a player and having an offseason has been really good for Ed. Having a chance to work with our D-line coach Eric Washington and his assistant Jacque Cesare, something that he didn’t have a chance to do last season. New position coach, new way of doing things and you kind of learning on the run as the season goes on. So, yes, we’ve seen tremendous growth throughout the entire offseason. He’s had a really good training camp, good preseason, and we expect him to have a really good season as well.”
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