Bills Central

Projecting the Bills' defensive depth chart for the 2024 NFL Season

A roster projection for one of the most stalwart defenses in the league.

McKenna Middlebrook

Dec 10, 2023; Kansas City, Missouri, USA; Buffalo Bills defensive tackle Ed Oliver (91) and
Dec 10, 2023; Kansas City, Missouri, USA; Buffalo Bills defensive tackle Ed Oliver (91) and / Jay Biggerstaff-USA TODAY Sports

We've already peered into the crystal ball and tried to project the Buffalo Bills offensive depth chart for the upcoming season, so now we’re going to do the same with the defensive side of the ball. Like the offense, there are still questions that need to be addressed within various units, and those questions will be answered below. 

Players listed in order in which we're projecting them to appear on the depth chart.

Defensive line

DE Greg Rousseau, DT DaQuan Jones, DT Ed Oliver, DE Von Miller (DE Casey Toohill, DT DeWayne Carter, DT DeShawn Williams, DT Eli Ankou, DE AJ Epenesa, DE Javon Solomon for depth) (10) 

The starters for the defensive line aren’t necessarily in question. Buffalo has invested heavily in their starting front four by granting Greg Rousseau’s fifth-year option, extending Ed Oliver in the 2023 offseason, and giving Von Miller a massive contract in 2022. They’ve also spent plenty of draft capital by selecting edge rusher Javon Solomon out of Troy and nose tackle DeWayne Carter out of Duke in the most recent NFL draft. 

The biggest question is how many defensive linemen Buffalo wants to keep, GM Brandon Beane and HC Sean McDermott clearly value having depth in the position due to the investment over the years. So will we see if the likes of Dawaune Smoot or Bills veteran Kingsley Johnathan get the nod in the coming season. 

Linebackers 

Matt Milano, Terrell Bernard, Dorian Williams, Deion Jones, Edefuan Ulofoshio, Nicholas Morrow 

The Bills were ravaged by injury at the linebacker position in the 2023 NFL season. They lost star Matt Milano to a horrific leg injury while playing the Jacksonville Jaguars in London in Week 5, then they lost burgeoning star Terrell Bernard in their Wild Card match-up against the Steelers to an ankle injury. 

This is where certain questions need to be addressed and they revolve around the health of aforementioned star linebacker, Matt Milano. If Milano is still injured going into the start of the season then it wouldn’t be a shock if Buffalo kept an extra linebacker such as Baylon Spector on the roster. If Milano is healthy, then the players above should be the core to staunch Bills' defense. Sophomore Dorian Williams figures to be the primary depth option, and don't sleep on rookie Edefuan Ulofoshio, who flashed coverage ability at Washington.

Related: WATCH: Tom Brady takes humorous shot at Bills Mafia during Netflix Roast

Defensive backs 

CB Rasul Douglas, SS Cole Bishop, FS Mike Edwards, CB Taron Johnson, CB Christian Benford (CB Kaiir Elam, CB Daequan Hardy, CB J’Marcus Ingram, SS Taylor Rapp, FS Damar Hamlin) 

The Buffalo Bills have put together a patchwork secondary of veterans, homegrown talent and interesting rookies during this offseason. 

Their starting cornerback is clearly Rasul Douglas who came over from Green Bay at the trade deadline during the 2023 season, and Taron Johnson will start in the slot as he’s become a premiere slot cornerback over the last few seasons.

Who starts next to them remains to be answered, if going by last season it should be Christian Benford, as the Villanova product superseded Kaiir Elam in the pecking order. But, when Benford went down with injury in their Wild Card match-up against Pittsburgh, Elam showed flashes of why he was a first-round pick (and flashes of why he was benched for the majority of the season). 

We'll project Cole Bishop to earn a starting role in Buffalo's defensive backfield, relegating Tayor Rapp back to the depth role he played last season.

Special teams

K Tyler Bass, P Sam Martin, LS Reid Ferguson, PR/KR Daequan Hardy

The Buffalo Bills did very little to upgrade their special teams unit since very little needed to be upgraded. Bass should return to form after a down year. It could also be an opportunity for rookie Deaquan Hardy to make the roster returning kicks, something he showed he was more than capable of at Penn State. 

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McKenna Middlebrook
MCKENNA MIDDLEBROOK