Dominant Bills DT named one of the 'most underrated' players in NFL

One outlet has identified Buffalo Bills defensive tackle Ed Oliver as one of the NFL's most underrated players.

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

Buffalo Bills defensive tackle Ed Oliver could perhaps best be described as a player who serves as a barometer for NFL fans who watch football as opposed to those who watch box scores; the defender has slowly evolved into one of the best interior pass-rush generators in the league, but some still doubt his ability.

His national prominence and recognition are slowly growing, which is natural given the fact that he's coming off a 2023 campaign in which he notched a career-high 9.5 sacks. While Oliver’s fifth season as a professional was objectively his best (he set new a career-high in total quarterback pressures with 72, per Pro Football Focus, complementing this with 32 run stops), he’s been quite stout for some time; the former ninth-overall pick has never registered fewer than 30 pressures and 20 run stops in a single season.

Oliver, however, took the leap from “very good” to “near-elite” in the 2023 season, and several pundits around the league have not yet taken notice. That’s why the 26-year-old has earned a spot on the 33rd Team’s list of the most underrated players in the NFL; in a recent article for the outlet, analyst Dan Pizzuta identified Oliver as the third-most underrated player in the league.

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"Ed Oliver has the rare feat of getting a sizable second contract as a first-round pick yet still sitting well outside the top 10 at his position," Pizzuta wrote. "Oliver signed a four-year, $68 million extension last offseason and his $17 million average annual value only ranks 17th at the position. His three-year cash flow of $51.4 million ranks 16th. When Oliver signed that deal, he was coming off an uneven 2022 season. He produced just 2.5 sacks after he started the year with an ankle injury and played in only 13 games. But Oliver had been a productive player when healthy, and in stretches of that 2022 season, even if some of the raw numbers would not indicate it.

"Oliver might not have the impact of Chris Jones, but that’s not what we’re looking for here. He is, however, closer to that type of player than he’s been given credit for, and at 26, he still has room to grow."

With Oliver’s supporting cast on the Buffalo defensive line returning, one could reasonably expect his dominance to continue into the 2024 NFL season. The Bills are set to benefit from his excellence for the foreseeable future; as mentioned by Pizzuta, Oliver inked a four-year extension with Buffalo prior to last season, tying him to the team through the 2027 NFL campaign on a deal that’s quickly looking like a bargain.