Who should Bills DL lean on after Von Miller’s suspension?

Buffalo Bills defensive end Von Miller has been suspended for the next four games. Who should the team place in position to step up in his absence?

Kyle Silagyi | 2 Hours Ago

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One 'Von' exits, and another steps in.

The Buffalo Bills are left searching for an interim contributor at defensive end following veteran pass-rusher Von Miller’s four-game suspension for violating the NFL’s Personal Conduct Policy; fortunately for the team, it just so happened to select the most prolific pass-rusher in college football in the fifth-round of the 2024 NFL Draft.

Though replacing the NFL’s active-all-time sack leader won’t be a necessarily easy task (regardless of his current ability), Miller’s suspension serves as an opportunity for Buffalo to give meaningful snaps to rookie defender Javon Solomon. Fresh off a junior season at Troy in which he led the FBS in sacks with 16, Solomon has played on 17 snaps thus far this year, the vast majority of which came in the Bills’ Week 3 drubbing of the Jacksonville Jaguars in which he recorded a strip sack.

The 23-year-old had a near-permanent residence in the opposition’s backfield throughout his 2023 season at Troy, recording 18 tackles for loss in addition to his 16 sacks. He totaled an astonishing 48 total quarterback pressures throughout 2023, per PFF, this in addition to 36 run stops.

One may read his collegiate production and advanced statistics and wonder why he lasted until the third day of the 2024 NFL Draft, and the answer is simple: his size. He measured in at 6-foot-1, 246 pounds at the 2024 NFL Scouting Combine, and though he’s not a poor athlete or necessarily undersized for his position, he’s not the towering, twitchy type of pass-rusher that executives generally fall for during draft season.

He’s just a solid football player, something he displayed throughout training camp and the preseason to the tune of five pressures, per PFF. Most prognosticators concluded during the pre-draft process that he likely projected as a pass-rush specialist, or obvious passing-down contributor, at the professional level, which is what makes Miller’s suspension an auspicious opportunity to insert him into the lineup: that’s the role the veteran filled throughout the start of his 13th professional season.

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Miller has played on 93—or roughly 35%—of Buffalo’s defensive snaps to start the 2024 campaign, his play-time largely relegated to passing downs in an effort to maximize his impact. He’s been productive to start the year, recording three sacks and five tackles through four games; his absence won’t necessarily go unnoticed, but given Solomon’s potential and demonstrated impact in an albeit very limited sample size, the Bills’ pass rush may not miss too substantial of a beat sans Miller.

It’s an odd situation that could just pave the way for a Solomon breakout; the Bills just lost their third-down specialist, giving them the opportunity to field a high-ceiling prospect who is uniquely positioned to thrive in such a role. Buffalo may opt to divvy Miller’s snaps between veterans Casey Toohill and Dawuane Smoot, but given the fact that Solomon has shown immense promise thus far and that the role projected to be most conducive to his success is now open, not giving the rookie the proverbial ball would be a missed opportunity.

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