Bills Roster Spotlight: Defensive Ends

They've invested major draft capital in the position yet still have some work to do.

That the Buffalo Bills followed up their selection of Gregory Rousseau in the first round of last year's NFL Draft with Carlos "Boogie" Basham in the second round really should have come as no surprise. They needed to fortify the defensive end position.

That need carries over into this offseason as they face the loss of Mario Addison, Jerry Hughes and Efe Obada to unrestricted free agency.

Addison, 34, led the team with 7.0 sacks last season, and the Bills have been planning for his and Hughes' eventual departures by drafting Rousseau and Basham last year and A.J. Epenesa in the second round the year before.

Sack production and consistency have been problems, however.

They had hoped for a breakout season from Epenesa in his second year. Instead, he produced 14 tackles and 1.5 sacks while playing 37% of the snaps.

Rousseau is a freakish athlete. But after coming through with two sacks in Week 2, he produced just two more the rest of the way. This, despite playing more snaps than any other defensive end besides Hughes, who will turn 34 in August.

Basham finished with 2.5 sacks.

Although sacks aren't the only measure of an edge rusher's worth, Bills coach Sean McDermott and general manager Brandon Beane can't feel comfortable going into the 2022 season without at least one more major addition.

They had hoped to have more appealing options as Addison and Hughes reached the end of their contracts. But they do not, and may need to re-sign at least one of them as a result.

No matter what, expect the Bills to be active in free agency as well as the draft this year at a key position in which they desperately need their younger players to make strides in 2022.

Here's a capsule look at where they stand with this position group headed to the start of the new league year next month:

Expiring contracts

Mario Addison, Jerry Hughes, Efe Obada and Bryan Cox Jr. all are due to become unrestricted free agents. Cox spent the 2021 season on the injured reserve list.

Realistic draft targets

Travon Walker, Georgia (second round); Jermaine Johnson, Florida State (second round); Boye Mafe, Minnesota (second round); David Ojabo, Michigan (second round); Myjai Sanders, Cincinnati (third round).

Notes: Top-flight prospects like Oregon's Kayvon Thibodeaux, Purdue's George Karlaftis and Michigan's Aidan Hutchinson likely will be long gone by the time the Bills first pick at No. 25 overall. Beane will need to trade up to get one of them — and he may, considering how important the position is and how unproven Rousseau, Basham and Epenesa remain.

Sensible free-agent targets

Chandler Jones, Emmanuel Ogbah, Charles Harris.

Notes: Not many great options here. Most of the edge rushers hitting the market are older options who aren't any more appealing than Hughes and Addison.

Look for the Bills to make a run at Addison with a short-term deal.

Bills 2022 NFL Draft picks

Round              Selection

1                       25

2                       57

3                       89

4                       126

5                       166

6                       184

6                       203

7                       228

7                       243

Nick Fierro is the publisher of Bills Central. Check out the latest Bills news at www.si.com/nfl/bills and follow Fierro on Twitter at @NickFierro. Email to Nicky300@aol.com.